How Often Should I Re-Stain My Home's Decking?

How Often Should I Re-Stain My Home’s Decking?

March 1, 2020

If you have a deck at your home, it’s understandable to want to keep it as attractive as possible without having to re-stain it every single summer. But how frequently should you need to stain your deck? It’s an important part of home maintenance, but finding the right balance is important so you can keep a good-looking, well-protected deck without losing your sanity over it.

Read on for an overview of what you should consider, then contact reliable deck contractors in Traverse City, MI for more information or assistance.

Factors involved in deck staining time

There are several factors you’ll want to consider when determining what’s necessary when it comes to the amount of time that passes between deck staining projects.

First, where is your deck located? You should consider the amount of direct sunlight it’s exposed to on a regular basis, the amount of foot traffic it gets and whether/how much it’s exposed to snow, ice, rain or dirt.

Also consider the other kinds of maintenance you perform with your deck. If you keep the deck relatively clean between stain applications, you might find you don’t have to re-stain as frequently. This means sweeping and washing whenever it’s necessary and appropriate.

Finally, consider the kind of stain you most recently used, and the quality of the application. If you used a high-quality stain with sufficient coats and did a good job of it, the stain will last longer than if you used a low-quality stain and rushed through the job, without using sufficient coats.

In addition, you might find the transparency of the stain could influence how quickly you feel the need to re-apply. Transparent stains might fade faster than opaque stains, which is something you’ll want to keep in mind.

Make sure your deck stain actually lasts

As hinted at above, you’ll want to make sure you do a good job with the stain application to ensure an attractive and long-lasting result. Before you begin, you’ll need to remove all sealant from the deck, as this will get in the way of the stain properly adhering to the wood. Once you’ve done this, you can pressure wash the wood to more effectively remove dirt and debris that’s embedded itself deeper into the wood than you’d be able to get off the surface with a broom or garden hose. If you don’t feel comfortable using a pressure washer, contact a professional to do this to avoid damaging your deck.

When you’re working on the deck, consider using a semi-transparent stain, which will go deeper into the wood than opaque stains. In addition, oil-based stains will last longer than water-based stains.

It can be hard to find time on your schedule to get jobs like deck staining done when the season only runs from April or May to September or October. Fortunately, Qualified Roofing is currently offering a 5 to 7 percent discount to customers who are available for flexible scheduling on projects like deck staining. We encourage you to contact our reliable deck contractors in Traverse City, MI with any questions or to schedule service.

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