What Brand of stain should I use on my Cedar Deck?

[bean29]

I need to buy stain so DH can stain our Cedar Deck (new) later this week. I was going to go for Consumer reports top pick which is Behr, but I see negative comments both on Consumer Reports and HD websites that the stain is too opaque and people think it looks like paint and that it has horrible wear etc.

I saw a recommendation for a brand called Defy - we would have to go to Grayslake, IL to get it, but it is not too far from my house - I think it said 35 miles.

DH was going to use a Sherwin Williams Semi Transparent Stain, consumers reports rated it really bad.

Deck is raised up about 5 feet off the ground and should be fairly sunny - only shade would be from the house itself and the house/deck on the underside.

Interested to hear what other's experience has been.

[Deleted]

Olympic 5 year guarantee stain lasted 2 years in my extremely damp & rainy environment. I was happy with that.
Behr was a disaster and didn't last a year and caused other issues (this was the post mold problem product).

Bonny recently did her deck, so maybe she can shed light.

[ArchietheDragon]

I just bought a gallon of behr premium solid stain. Hoping to get it down this week.

[Bonny]

As the resident expert deck stainer here  I do use Behr products. But you need to pay attention to what product of theirs that you use. They have a transparent stain in Cedar which I use at two of the properties. For my own property I do a 4 gal cedar to 1 of redwood which looks really good next to the brick in my front yard.

They have more opaque stains which I don't use and they have "deck restore" stain which I've bought one gallon of but will probably not use as a regular stain.

For the Coastal properties I stain every other year. For the mountain cabin I wind up staining every year. I may be a little anal um compulsive about my staining. But it does make a difference. Part of my deck at home is 30 years old and we are finally having to replace some boards due to rot. The upper deck of the cabin floor boards were replaced after 30 years.

[Deleted]

We also used the Olympic 5-year.  I think we are on year 3.  The stain looks fine, but the deck needs to be powerwashed.  That will probably remove the stain.  Lol.

[bean29]

Bonnie this is the one recommended by CR:

www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Premium-1-gal-Redwood-Semi-Transparent-Weatherproofing-Wood-Stain-533001/202263943

are you using this?

www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Premium-1-gal-501-Cedar-Naturaltone-Transparent-Weatherproofing-Wood-Finish-50101/100112585

Thanks for the advice!

[bean29]

If you guys who used the Olympic stain, know which one you used was it semi transparent etc., I see it is available at Lowes and Lowes and Home Depot are pretty much across the street from each other by me.

[Bonny]

May 18, 2015 14:10:42 GMT -5 bean29 said:

are you using this?

www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Premium-1-gal-501-Cedar-Naturaltone-Transparent-Weatherproofing-Wood-Finish-50101/100112585

Thanks for the advice!

Yes.

The semi-transparent ones are probably better on older decks with a lot of wear. Last summer el cheapo tried mixing some old semi transparent redwood stain that's been in the cabin garage for a while with transparent cedar tone. Looked ok going on but I really don't like the opaque look. Already started flaking and it's not even a year old. To be fair the semi transparent is really old and that's part of the problem. But for a new deck you want to enhance how beautiful it is and protect it, not cover it up.

BTW when you first put the cedar on it looks really orange. But in a week or so it tones down.

The color of the semi-transparent hasn't changed and still looks a little streaky in spots.

ETA: Like any paint job prep is the key. You won't need to do it this time but as the deck ages you will want to clean and brighten the deck. I use Oxyclean which gets rid of mildew and some staining. You will also want to "floss the deck" to clear out plant material that gets between the floorboards and sits on the joists. You can use a flat headed screw driver but there are longer handled products that are easier on your back. And you will want to do some sanding especially with the handrails which tend to get the brunt of the sun.

[bean29]

Hmm.

All the floor boards on the deck are from a lumber mill. Some of the spindles in the railing are darker than the others b/c I originally wanted metal spindles. DH didn't like they way they were installed so he nixed it. By the time we refigured what we were going to do for a railing, the lumber yard was closed, so they went to Menards and bought cedar 2x2's.  The ones from Menards are much lighter. I am afraid it will be obvious.

I will discuss this with DH tonight.  

When you stain the deck, how long do you wait until you walk on it/use the deck? 

[Bonny]

May 18, 2015 15:22:55 GMT -5 bean29 said:

Hmm.

All the floor boards on the deck are from a lumber mill. Some of the spindles in the railing are darker than the others b/c I originally wanted metal spindles. DH didn't like they way they were installed so he nixed it. By the time we refigured what we were going to do for a railing, the lumber yard was closed, so they went to Menards and bought cedar 2x2's.  The ones from Menards are much lighter. I am afraid it will be obvious.

I will discuss this with DH tonight.  

When you stain the deck, how long do you wait until you walk on it/use the deck? 

It depends on the weather. The cabin is usually really dry so only about a day or two. At the SF Bay Area house it can be a full week especially if it's foggy. Make sure that you have some cheap floor mats inside the house at the egress areas. I'd even make folks take off their shoes for the first few days. If you have high humidity the deck will feel dry to the test but when you walk on it, it will be a little sticky.

[tskeeter]

The last time I stained our wood fence, I used a Sikkens stain.  In the past I'd use Olympic, and it would last close to two years.  The Sikkens stuff has been on for three years and is starting to get to the point that I'll need to be resprayed, so I'm thinking I'll get about four years out of the Sikkens product.  The Sikkens was more expensive than anything else I've used, but when you consider the longer life, it's been worth paying more for the materials.  Not having to spray the fence every other year has been the bonus.

Of course, on my fence, the stain hasn't been subjected to the wear that it would get on deck boards.  So, I don't think that it would last four years on the floor a heavily used deck.  But it would probably last quite a bit longer than most people are currently using. 

[Bonny]

May 18, 2015 15:45:05 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

The last time I stained our wood fence, I used a Sikkens stain.  In the past I'd use Olympic, and it would last close to two years.  The Sikkens stuff has been on for three years and is starting to get to the point that I'll need to be resprayed, so I'm thinking I'll get about four years out of the Sikkens product.  The Sikkens was more expensive than anything else I've used, but when you consider the longer life, it's been worth paying more for the materials.  Not having to spray the fence every other year has been the bonus.

Of course, on my fence, the stain hasn't been subjected to the wear that it would get on deck boards.  So, I don't think that it would last four years on the floor a heavily used deck.  But it would probably last quite a bit longer than most people are currently using. 

I'm about 5 years on the fence for the Oceanside (San Diego County) house. But I'm such a glutton for punishment that I hand brushed or rolled both sides of the fence.  Yes, it's a lot more work but you do get more product on and it makes a difference. Most of the fence still looks good except the (thankfully) short southern exposure.

[tskeeter]

May 18, 2015 13:40:10 GMT -5 bean29 said:

I need to buy stain so DH can stain our Cedar Deck (new) later this week. I was going to go for Consumer reports top pick which is Behr, but I see negative comments both on Consumer Reports and HD websites that the stain is too opaque and people think it looks like paint and that it has horrible wear etc.

I saw a recommendation for a brand called Defy - we would have to go to Grayslake, IL to get it, but it is not too far from my house - I think it said 35 miles.

DH was going to use a Sherwin Williams Semi Transparent Stain, consumers reports rated it really bad.

Deck is raised up about 5 feet off the ground and should be fairly sunny - only shade would be from the house itself and the house/deck on the underside.

Interested to hear what other's experience has been.

How new is "new" and do you know how dry the lumber was when the deck was built?  You want the deck material to be well dried, otherwise you're likely to have peeling and flaking problems.  If it's stamped Kiln Dried and you haven't had rain for about four days, you'd be OK.  But, I've seen some deck lumber that was pretty wet.  When I got lumber to repair some rot on my in-laws deck, the lumber actually felt damp when you handled it.  And it was unusually heavy.  The lumber sat around for a couple of weeks before I got to the repairs, and by that time the lumber weighed less than half as much as it did when I got it.  Obviously that lumber was only a few days out of the tree and hadn't been kiln dried when I got it.

Since you have easy access to the bottom of the deck, it's probably worth your time and the cost of the materials to put a quick coat of stain on the bottom of the deck.  When making furniture, one of the things you do to prevent wood from warping and twisting is to put an equal number of coats of finish on all surfaces.  So the inside of the door gets just as many coats of finish as the outside.  This means that the lumber absorbs and releases moisture equally on both sides, which reduces warping.  Staining the bottom of the deck helps to reduce the amount of moisture the deck absorbs from the ground under the deck.  Because a single coat of stain in a protected area, such as the bottom of the deck, will last for years and years, you'd probably never need to stain the bottom of the deck again.  

[bean29]

Tskeeter, I will have DH check with our carpenter on how dry he thinks the wood was. My New deck, floor boards are down about 2-3 weeks and the rails are in about 1.5 weeks? 

The carpenter was a job site superintendent for a large local contractor that does a lot of Hospital work.  I also have a union carpenter or three on staff at my job.  Both of those guys seem to like Sherwin Williams for stain.  I haven't managed to talk to my co-worker yet, but the clerk in his dept says he told her to use Sherwin Williams Stain.

I will tell DH to try the stain on the underside of the deck/stain the underside.  It rained a lot here yesterday.  It is supposed to be dry and clear all week until Saturday.  So DH was going to let it dry until about Thursday, then stain it.

[tskeeter]

May 18, 2015 16:04:37 GMT -5 Bonny said:

May 18, 2015 15:45:05 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

The last time I stained our wood fence, I used a Sikkens stain.  In the past I'd use Olympic, and it would last close to two years.  The Sikkens stuff has been on for three years and is starting to get to the point that I'll need to be resprayed, so I'm thinking I'll get about four years out of the Sikkens product.  The Sikkens was more expensive than anything else I've used, but when you consider the longer life, it's been worth paying more for the materials.  Not having to spray the fence every other year has been the bonus.

Of course, on my fence, the stain hasn't been subjected to the wear that it would get on deck boards.  So, I don't think that it would last four years on the floor a heavily used deck.  But it would probably last quite a bit longer than most people are currently using. 

I'm about 5 years on the fence for the Oceanside (San Diego County) house. But I'm such a glutton for punishment that I hand brushed or rolled both sides of the fence.  Yes, it's a lot more work but you do get more product on and it makes a difference. Most of the fence still looks good except the (thankfully) short southern exposure.

I'm a bit surprised that you're getting 5 years out of a stain in Oceanside.  I'd have thought that the moisture in the air many, many mornings would weather the finish fairly quickly.  Of course, our challenge over here is the damage the sun does to the finish.  The finish on most fences seems to last about a year or two unless the section of the fence is pretty protected from the sun.

And yes, you are a glutton for punishment.  When I first stained our privacy fence, I brushed a section about 25 feet long.  I made an effort to get some stain between the boards on the fence, so I spent more than the minimum amount of time.  Even though I know how to swing a paint brush, a skill acquired spending several months painting hotel rooms when I was younger, that short section of fence took about six hours of dedicated work.  That evening, I ordered a small commercial sprayer.  These days, we spend half an hour doing some minor prep to keep overspray off the house and a paver walkway, put the sprayer and a 5 gallon bucket in a wagon, hook up some long extension cords and go to town.  Then, three of us working together (a person spraying, a hose tender, and a wagon and stain tender) can stain about 500 lineal feet of six foot high fence in about 45 minutes.  Spraying may not get on quite a thick a coat of stain as brushing or rolling, but I'll take an hour or so of spraying every four or five years over hours and hours of brushing and rolling every six or seven years.          

[Bonny]

LOL, tskeeter and it's a BIG fence. That property sits on .6 of an acre.

The moisture mix in Oceanside seems to be o.k.  it's about 1 mi from the ocean facing west with some big Liquid Amber trees that do a nice job of screening the worst of the sun during the summer. It also sits below the crest of the hill so is not in the direct line of ocean fog and wind. The sun seems to do the most damage in that area. The SF Bay Area deck sits up on a hill so gets some western sun and salt air. The west facing pales seem to have the worst of it. The cabin decks have issues with extreme temps (at 5500' in the So. CA mountains), some mildew and tree sap.

[tskeeter]

May 18, 2015 17:12:47 GMT -5 Bonny said:

LOL, tskeeter and it's a BIG fence. That property sits on .6 of an acre.

The moisture mix in Oceanside seems to be o.k.  it's about 1 mi from the ocean facing west with some big Liquid Amber trees that do a nice job of screening the worst of the sun during the summer. It also sits below the crest of the hill so is not in the direct line of ocean fog and wind. The sun seems to do the most damage in that area. The SF Bay Area deck sits up on a hill so gets some western sun and salt air. The west facing pales seem to have the worst of it. The cabin decks have issues with extreme temps (at 5500' in the So. CA mountains), some mildew and tree sap.

Long as you used the same color on all the houses, we could set up an intinerant painting crew.  Spray the deck in SF, run some solvent into the sprayer, hot foot it for Oceanside, spray the fence, more solvent, jump up to Big Bear?, do the cabin, more solvent, then make a run to Phoenix.  Do all the decks and fences in abut six days.  Unless you hire the crew out to the neighbors at the rentals

[Bonny]

May 18, 2015 17:22:26 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Long as you used the same color on all the houses, we could set up an intinerant painting crew.  Spray the deck in SF, run some solvent into the sprayer, hot foot it for Oceanside, spray the fence, more solvent, jump up to Big Bear?, Idyllwild, do the cabin, more solvent, then make a run to Phoenix No decks in AZ!  Head back to Reno to Tskeeter's.  Do all the decks and fences in abut six days.  Unless you hire the crew out to the neighbors at the rentals Fixed! What a plan although we do need to account for a day's travel time between SF Bay area and So. CA, 2 hours from Oceanside to IDY and a day back to Reno.

ETA: Where do these guys sleep? I'm not sharing my air mattress with any of them!

[DagnyT]

I just stained a deck at one of our rentals last week. I used Olympic Elite Semi-transparent (redwood). I bought it at Lowe's. It was $43 per gallon or $122.50 for a three gallon bucket. It covered well. It goes on really red, but after it dries, it mellows some and is a brownish-red color.  Take my advice and do not put the gallon container on the rails. I lost 2/3 of a gallon when it fell off. Oh well, the pine needles underneath are now beautiful!

[tskeeter]

May 18, 2015 17:22:26 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

May 18, 2015 17:12:47 GMT -5 Bonny said:

LOL, tskeeter and it's a BIG fence. That property sits on .6 of an acre.

The moisture mix in Oceanside seems to be o.k.  it's about 1 mi from the ocean facing west with some big Liquid Amber trees that do a nice job of screening the worst of the sun during the summer. It also sits below the crest of the hill so is not in the direct line of ocean fog and wind. The sun seems to do the most damage in that area. The SF Bay Area deck sits up on a hill so gets some western sun and salt air. The west facing pales seem to have the worst of it. The cabin decks have issues with extreme temps (at 5500' in the So. CA mountains), some mildew and tree sap.

Long as you used the same color on all the houses, we could set up an intinerant painting crew.  Spray the deck in SF, run some solvent into the sprayer, hot foot it for Oceanside, spray the fence, more solvent, jump up to Big Bear?, do the cabin, more solvent, then make a run to Phoenix.  Do all the decks and fences in abut six days.  Unless you hire the crew out to the neighbors at the rentals

Reno's a good idea.  Mrs Tskeeter keeps the wine fridge full.  The sunsets over the Sierras can be pretty spectacular.  And the Weber turns out s pretty decent slab of beef.

[Abby Normal]

Green cedar (not dried) and kiln dried should both be "seasoned" to their environment. In other words, once they reach the area of the country they will be used in, they should acclimate to the current climate.  Depending on where you live, you may only find one or the other for sale.

The more "clear" your stain is, the less you will have to redo it.  The stain you find in the stores is called a "cedar tone" which is really designed for other woods to make it the color of cedar. It also depends on which type of cedar you have.  Incense is very yellow. Red cedar is just that "more red" than other cedar types, but not as red as redwood.  The only thing that is going to look like "cedar" is cedar, which means using a clear stain.  The redder you apply, the more you will have to do it because as it wears, the natural color of the cedar boards will show through.  Using a clear, you don't notice it as much.

We use a clear, and can get away with doing it every 3-4 years.  

Use a good deck wash first to brighten back the color.  

We don't walk on ours for at least 2 days during warm weather.  The dogs aren't allowed to walk across it for the first 24 hours. 

[Deleted]

May 18, 2015 20:37:10 GMT -5 DagnyT said:

I just stained a deck at one of our rentals last week. I used Olympic Elite Semi-transparent (redwood). I bought it at Lowe's. It was $43 per gallon or $122.50 for a three gallon bucket. It covered well. It goes on really red, but after it dries, it mellows some and is a brownish-red color.  Take my advice and do not put the gallon container on the rails. I lost 2/3 of a gallon when it fell off. Oh well, the pine needles underneath are now beautiful!

I'm pretty sure this is what we used. It's holding up well, on it's 4th year and gets afternoon sun.

We did hit the railings again last year.

[bookkeeper]

My brother in law paints and stains for a living.  The only deck product he will use is Superdeck.  Here is a link:

 www.superdeck.com/products/superdeck-for-wood/

I have seen the product first hand at a relative's lake cabin.  The first coat will last 3-4 years.  When you apply the second coat, you get a really nice rich color and the oils seep farther into the wood for even more protection.

The stuff isn't cheap, but I have had other people thank me for recommending this product.