Sealing a 'new' deck.

[DIYER WANNABE]

Well this company that came out said it has a 25 year warranty and you never have to seal again. The wood will turn greyish, but whenever you want to make it look like new again, you just have to wash it with deck wash or powerwash it.

I have some Cabot stain that I might put on it if we don't go with that company. It's a sealer/stainer in one. So, let me get this straight for future reference, if we put this on, we'd put the same stuff on in a year or two (sealer and stain?). Also, how often do you recommend staining a deck? I'm just trying to do a cost/benefit analysis compared to the one time deal with the company.

Thanks!

[pushkins]

Yes, if you use for example the Cabots product you would reuse that product to reseal/restain whenever needed. How often you would need to do this depends on climate, exposure and use issues, extreme fluctuation in yearly temperatures from summer to winter with heavy BBQ use and full sun will need to be done probably on a yearly basis to keep it looking like brand new. A simple test on a sealers effectiveness is to sprinkle a little water on the deck, if it beads up, your sealer is still effective.

Why wood turns gray >>>>>>>>>>> Wood turns gray when it's surface dries out, in the drying out process the environment dries out the woods "natural oils". It's a similar process to human skin with plenty of moisture it's subtle and pinkish (Caucasian) when it dries out it becomes white and flaky.
When you power wash the wood your actually blasting a very small layer of wood from the surface.

From experience and an educated guess on your particular deck, I'd say if you washed it down gently each year and reapplied the sealer stain every other year you'd be good to go. That said like I mentioned previously if you want that "brand new deck" look all the time your probably looking at a yearly reapplication of sealer stain.

[Fix-it]

25 year warranty for deck sealing?!?

..Did George Carlin come back from the dead?