| 31 October |
Annual Deck Upkeep Requires Common Sense |
Every year at the State Fair, we check out the booth that publicizes five year warranty on deck floors. Many makers put wording on their paint cans that advertise long guaranties. But when you study the fine print, we have yet to find anyone who will back up a warranty on a common deck floor in Minnesota. The best small print on the guaranty is from one manufacturer that provides a three year warranty, while the deck is re-coated yearly!
The best stains are from Sherwin Williams, PPG, ICI, Glidden, Hirshfields, X-100, Floods, CWF, Deckscapes, Cabots, Sikens SRD, TWP, and others. They all have good products, but there aren’t any sorcery products that last significantly longer than their competitors. Be certain to employ a coating that’s compatible with the previous one, as this will help keep the price to maintain the deck lower.
Consumer Reports magazine is generally a good resource for many products but for staining decks their recommendation is not applicable to Minnesota. They recommend using a solid stain for best longevity, but you don’t want to do that if you’re inthis is totally wrong for Minnesota. In Minnesota, we experience an enormous quantity of freeze thaw cycles. When deck boards get wet and then freeze, the water expands and pushes the coating off. If the coating is a penetrating stain that does not leave a film, there is little to no coating to bump off. ( less is better for decks ) As a semitransparent wears away, it appears more and more rustic. If a solid coating is applied on a horizontal surface, it’ll peel and look unsightly. It doesn’t look country, it’s worn out and in disrepair. When it comes to making an attempt to make a deck covered with a solid stain attractive once again, the cost of scraping and sanding before re-staining makes it much costlier than using a semi-transparent stain instead.
Schoenfelder Painting is a deck maintenance Minneapolis company that paints or seals over 500 decks each per year. We are adept at using most any type of deck finishing system, but have developed some preferences. We strongly recommend employing a semi clear stain on deck floors. It’s a small harder to apply, but holds up as well as anything. More importantly it’s good even as it wears away and it wIll not peel. Semitransparent stain is also the least costly to redo in 2 years. It only must be washed and re-applied. Ultimately it is good even after many applications, so the long run maintenance is really economical. Semi-transparent also comes in many different tints.
The railings, spindles, bottom sides and skirts can be done with the same product and color. That is how I treated the deck on my home. If you make sure to maintain your deck each second spring, it will continue to look fantastic for many years to come. We are proud to be your provider of exterior painting Minneapolis.
The sole consideration to semitransparent stain is that you can not use it over other preservatives or paint. If your deck was painted in the past, extra prep is required. In these cases, we usually sand the decks down to the bare wood using floor sanders. We remove nearly one hundred percent of the present stain or paint that’s on the floor, the stairs and top of the rail. Our clients love the result. The deck surface will feel like when it was brand new. Sanding only costs about $1.25 per square foot and does not need to be done again for 10+ years. The feeling of your well maintained deck floor, precious! So just remember that if you want deck staining professionals we are here to help.