Staining or Sealing Your Deck

Here is some information on sealing or staining your deck.  Generally maintenance free products do not need to be sealed or stained.  Natural woods can be left untreated, but many homeowners chose to preserve the original look of their deck as well as its durability and thus chose to stain or seal.

Please note that Delta Decks does not specialize in deck restoration or sealing and staining of
softwood decks.  We learned a little about sealing and staining from our clients and working with other contractors.  At the moment, we only offer sealing services for Ipe decks.

Sealing or staining a pressure treated or a cedar deck

Sealing or staining a pressure treated or a cedar deck. You need to wait at least 2-3 weeks after completion of the project in order for the deck to adjust to the outside humidity conditions and for wood to completely dry out (when the wood is cut down the moisture content is around 80%, it then adjusts to 8-10%)

Giving your deck a light sand will open up the pores and the wood will absorb the stain or sealant better.

Darker stains last longer (you may need to re-stain every 2-3 years). Clear sealant or stain sometimes only lasts a year.

Getting this done professionally costs about $2/sq. ft., but the results normally exceed those of do-it-yourselfers.

A softwood deck needs to be sanded about every 5 years.

It is a good idea to go to your local paint store to get advice on what products to use on your deck, we found that the store staff are generally less bias than the staining contractors.

Oiling an Ipe deck

Oiling an Ipe deck. Ipe or Tiger wood are very dense woods, stain or sealant will not penetrate, oils for hardwood decks are generally used to preserve color

No sanding is required (in fact sanding prior to staining can negatively affect the durability), no special deck chemicals are required.  Oil is applied with a brush or a roller on a clean surface.

We find that Messmer’s UV plus for hardwood decks works best.  Some tint can be added to make the wood look darker.

For best results Ipe deck needs to be oiled every year.  If oiled, Ipe lasts up to 100 years, if left to untreated– up to 40. 

Delta Decks provides the oiling service at a rate of about $1 - $1.50 per sq. ft.