Stain, Sealers and Preservatives are crucial to keep wood from rotting and keep it looking great.  The stain protects from UV light, Sealers prevent water from rotting the wood, and preservatives help against both – in addition to protection from bugs.  What many homeowners don’t understand is that new wood is not stain ready!

When wood comes out of the Mill there is something known as Mill Glaze left on the boards.  This glaze actually protects the wood from moisture and from penetration – this includes stain! New wood needs a little time to weather outside and in some cases requires the assistance of a mill glaze removing product.  Once the wood has weathered for a length of time (which depends on the elements and amount of sun exposure) the deck still needs to be power-washed and prepped to properly receive and hold the new stain.

Are you a bit skeptical?  Give it a water test.  Sprinkle a few drops of water onto you deck, did it bead up??  If the water beads up and doesn’t sink into the wood in just a couple minutes than it is reasonable to believe that the stain will not adequately penetrate into the wood either.

Feel free to visit our home page and contact us if you have any questions regarding products, length of time to wait to stain, stain suggestions or quotes.  We are happy to be your resource for Deck Maintenance and Protection.

Deck ReDo Team
952-303-1311

“We are proud of our work and we take time and energy to listen to our clients and their needs, regardless of the project size.  Taking the time to learn about how the client will use their deck, what kind of traffic it may have (pets), the amount of sunlight, etc. will make an impact on the way the deck is stained and sealed.  We take this all into account and take the time to educate the client before any formal agreements are made”, says Kevin Dailey of Deck ReDo.

A couple of Deck ReDo customers write on Angieslist.com:
First Review From Michael of Savage MN:

Overall: A
Price: A
Quality: A
Responsiveness: A
Punctuality: A
Professionalism: A

Kevin and crew power washed and refinished our deck. They were also happy to provide a bid and then perform the work to wash and finish the front cedar shakes (4 different sections, very high up) and front entryway of our home.

I recieved bids from a few different deck maintenance companies and found Kevin to be very professional and honest about the work he does and service he provides. After awarding Kevin the job, Kevin and another employee did an excellent job refinishing our deck, plus the front cedar shakes and front cedar entry of our home. I found Deck Redo’s work to be of equal or better quality than what I would expect from a higher priced competitor and felt very comfortable knowing they were going to do a great job. The quality of their work made the cost a very good value. I stongly recommend considering Deck ReDo if you are looking for bids for deck maintenance (ask about other cedar maintenance you may need done, they might be able to do. I was glad to have them do this work for us too).

The first step to restoring any deck is to clean and prepare the wood for sealing.  If preparation is not done properly, it will severely reduce the length of time your deck is protected!  As experienced Minnesota deck stainers, we have seen what the harsh weather here can do to a less than professional deck cleaning.

The Art of Pressure Washing:

Choose a pressure washer that is 2500-3500 psi.  The nozzle should have a spread of 15-30 degrees.  No conic nozzles!  Uneven pressure from the washer will leave marks in the wood which can be permanent!  Think of it this way – If it is strong enough to deeply clean your deck, it is strong enough to literally cut your deck.  Be sure to avoid direct skin contact with the pressurized stream!

Tip:  If you leave a cut mark, as seen in this picture above, give us a call!  It is very important to take care of these marks before staining because it will only make the marks more visible.

Contrarily, if you use too little pressure, your deck will not absorb the stain properly.  This will cause the stain to fade in as little as one summer.

The appropriate amount of pressure should be enough to remove old stain, dirt or mildew while not causing the wood to fray or splinter.

Take a look at this deck washing before and after photo:

If you are considering staining the deck yourself Deck ReDo offers you some options:

1. If you or your kids are set on staining it yourself, consider having Deck ReDo properly clean the deck.  We are very reasonable and can save you enormous amounts of time and money.
2. Call us for your free estimate.  We all like to be handy and accomplishing a project is a great feeling, however consider all the costs.
   1. High quality deck stain is really expensive and choosing the right products can be really important.  Deck ReDo has great product buying power for stain and can give great recommendations on colors and mixtures.  Darker colors are recommended for certain woods, decks with different light exposures, and decks with pet or high traffic.  Why learn from mistakes when you can learn from our experience.
   2. Renting washers and sanders can be expensive and requires experience to operate.  Consider adding up the time you have spent and money invested in rented a washer and Deck ReDo becomes the obvious choice.

Give us a call.  Bids are free and so is the advice.  952-303-1311
Located in Richfield and Burnsville MN.  Servicing Twin Cities and Surrounding Areas.

“I have a client that had their deck stained two weeks ago. Red stain. It is all over the black railings( I think they are aluminum), concrete and vinyl siding. Do you know how to remove stain from these items? Can it be done? Do you remove stain? Thanks for your help.”

Answer:

First and foremost, thank you for your question.  This is not uncommon when staining is done by the inexperienced, but rest in the fact that if you approach the situation carefully and patiently, the results can get better.

There is a product line that can be found at Home Depot called Lift Off, by Motsenbocker. I have had success on all of those surfaces with their lift off #4. When using it try it on a small area first, and apply it in small amounts a couple times until you have reduced the stain.

I have found that excessive application or rubbing on the stain will begin to take off the original surfacing, so please read the bottle carefully and follow their instructions above my suggestions. Also, depending on the surface you may not be able to remove all of it, however you will probably be pleased over the current condition.

The content included is for educational purposes only.  Deck ReDo LLC is not to be liable for any actions taken as a result of this message.  Please respect product details and instructions at all times.

Back To Home Page www.DeckReDo.com or call 952-303-1311

1. First and foremost you need to ask yourself what color you want.  You may think this is just a personal preference question, but in reality the amount of pigment in the stain will affect UV (ultra violet) protection from the sun, can prohibit you from colors in the future and can highlight scratches.

   1. Pigment:  The darker the color you choose the more pigment and ultimately the more ultraviolet protection you will have on your wood.  Similar to sunscreen, when the pigments get just a little darker than a natural or honey color, the changes aren’t substantial.  I always recommend to clients that a Cedartone color will provide adequate UV protection while still allowing the wood color and grain to be visible.

   2. Pigment:  As for the future staining of decks, if the original color chosen is too dark the cleaning process of a high quality stain will not remove all the stain and therefore future colors must typically be very similar or darker.

   

2. Solid or Penetrating Stain.  This is the most common error made by homeowners.  Typically a homeowner will go to a big box Do-It-Yourself store and pick their recommended stain.  What you will not be told is that most often these stains are solid stains and work more like paint.  From my experience, this leads to peeling, cracking, covering of wood grain, and overall customer dissatisfaction.  On rare occasions a homeowner will be satisfied with a solid stain, however in my experience I would say about 1 in every 200.

3. Lastly is the preparation method.  I have seen methods ranging from using a normal pressured garden hose, up to completely sanding the deck, however there is a happy median.  The goal of washing a deck is two fold: 1. Remove current stain to expose bare wood, and2. Remove dirt, debris, mold, mildew etc.  Truth is cleaners, strippers, hosing down do a nice job of getting the wood to look clean, however the underlying dirt needs to be removed with a very high pressure washer.  I do NOT recommend this for a non-professional as the proper pressure can harm you wood permanently.  However done properly the stain will take well to the wood lasting a very long time.

Naturally there are many more things to consider when staining a deck, however these three will get you on the right path to a perfect summer sanctuary.

As you will see the restoration process, even on a simple deck such as this one, can be extensive.  First the deck needs to be power washed, stripped, sanded and then stained/sealed.  The process was more lengthy and difficult because it was not originally done properly.  Unfortunately I do not have an image of this decks peeling, however it looked similar to a deck that we recently restored in Edina which was in similar condition:

After the deck had been stripped with deck stripper and power-washed with three thousand psi washer, there was still much work to be done.  The stripper did not remove all the stain, particularly where the wood fibers are not as soft – such as the knots.

After lengthy sanding with a coarse sander and then again with a sheet sander the stain was in great presentation and ready for the staining, sealing and preservative.  As much as the wood grain is appreciated by homeowners, if it is not promptly sealed the deck will Grey and take harsh punishment from the elements (sun, rain, ice, insects, etc.)

It was the choice of the homeowners to mix a natural cedar tone stain a rustic stain to add a little more tint.  We were happy to give them the exact color and they were glad to see that the wood grains were still quite visible.

As you will notice the stain is not a solid stain but rather a penetrating stain.  This means the stain, sealer, preservative actually soaks into the wood allowing it to gracefully fade over time while still protecting it from the elements.  The below pictures were taken one year after the deck was stained and is a representation of how a deck should react to water if properly stained.

* Behr is a trademarked product by Behr Process Corporation.  Deck ReDo is in no way affiliated with Behr and cannot speak on their behalf.  All content given in regards to Behr is strictly anecdotal and opinion of Deck ReDo LLC.