Summertime is always a great time to stain your porch or deck! We talked about building a deck in our external renovation post but now, 9 years after we built it, it’s time for a re-haul. The flowers are pretty but look at how dark, grimy and mossy the deck is! YUCK!
We built these wood pine decks for the cottages using pressure treated wood, but they got hammered by the long, grueling Lake Placid winters. Once when it hit 40 below zero, we could hear popping noises and planks moving around!
So we knew this year that it was time to stain them. It’s an intense job that takes a few days to do. First you need to take everything off and thoroughly clean it. You can buy or rent a pressure washer or just use elbow grease. Hydrogen peroxide and water works well and is better for the environment than bleach. Alternatively, you could use hot water and soap. After it’s been cleaned, let it dry for a few days.
There are many stain options but we recommend a clear cedar stain, like we used here. It came out great with our decks.
Check out This Old House contractor Tom Silva’s video on cleaning and staining a wood deck.
