7 Key Advantages of Deck Staining
The average homeowner spends between $10,000-$40,000 building their backyard deck.
If you’re putting a deck on your home, it’s because you want to add a living space in your backyard for friends and family to enjoy on those sunny days. You spend big money to get the deck built, but your deck maintenance shouldn’t end there.
Deck staining involves adding an oil based stain to coat your deck, waterproofing the wood to add protection and increase the lifespan. Staining a deck seals the wood fibers which keeps the elements from deteriorating your deck.
In this post, we will look at some of the aesthetic and functional benefits of staining a deck. If you care about your deck, it’s important to give it the attention it needs in order to prolong its lifespan. It helps if the maintenance makes it look great as well, so keep reading and learn all you need to know about deck staining.
1. Prevent Rain Damage
Rain is one of the biggest enemies of an unstained deck. With our long northwest wet seasons all that water is soaking into the wood rapidly increasing the breakdown process of the wood fibers. Eventually, you’ll end up with rotting boards that need to be replaced.
It’s important to have the deck professionally stained and sealed, or else you could still end up with water damage. Here in Portland, we get an average annual rainfall of 36 inches, so your deck is more susceptible to rain damage.
In fact, you need to stain and seal the deck every 2-4 years if you want to prolong your deck’s lifespan. Luckily if you stay on top of staining your deck, maintenance coats are cheaper and easier to apply than letting the deck go unchecked for years and then requiring being sanded down.
2. Prevent Sun Damage
The other element that can really take a toll on your deck is the sun. When you don’t maintain your deck properly, the UV rays from the sun will cause the wood to fade, split and become brittle.
If it’s left to get really bad, the wood will start to dry out, which makes it extremely vulnerable. You could end up with splintered and cracked boards that are unsafe to walk on in addition to looking unpleasant.
3. Repel Algae, Mold, and Infestation
One of the major consequences of a rain-damaged deck is the growth of algae, mold, and other organic organisms that cause your deck to start rotting. Once the rot starts, it can be tricky to stop it without professional cleaning and repair.
A low-pressure, high-volume wash and deck cleaning chemicals will get rid of mold and algae. If you’re going to keep them away, however, you need deck staining. These oil based stains work to repel water from soaking into the wood which in turn prevents the build up of organic growth.
Professional cleaning and staining will ensure you can always repel algae, mold, and infestation.
4. Maintain the Color
Your deck’s functionality is important – you want it to serve its purpose. That said, you always want your deck to look great. An unkempt deck with faded or rotting boards doesn’t do much for your curb appeal, let alone how you feel about your own backyard.
One of the great deck staining advantages is that it helps preserve the natural color of the wood. If you want to change the natural color of the wood, you can also choose between a wide variety of stain colors and tints.
After the deck staining is finished, you’ll be left with a gorgeous, warm-looking deck. The best part is that it stays this way for 2-4 years with proper maintenance. You’ll never have to worry about having an ugly deck when friends and family come over.
5. Deck painting
If your deck already has a solid water based paint on the wood then sticking with a deck paint is going to be the way to go. Trying to remove every bit of old paint off the wood with sanding is very time consuming, labor intensive and costly. While a deck paint may not show the beautiful wood grain such as a stain would, it’ll still provide the waterproofing protection needed for your deck to last through our rainy climate.
6. Easier Maintenance
Deck staining makes maintaining your deck easier. Once we have thoroughly stripped, brightened, washed and sanded your deck it will be prepped for staining. Then after the deck is stained with a color of your choice the future maintenance is as easy as rinsing the deck off and applying another coat of stain for contained protection every 2-4 years.
A professionally stained deck can essentially be left alone. It never hurts to blow off dirt and debris, but as long as you get it stained every 2-4 years there is nothing else left to do.
7. Money
All of the things we’ve discussed here work to save you money. When you neglect to care for your deck, it’s going to wear down quickly and you’re going to end up paying for repairs and worse yet a full replacement.
Professionally staining your deck is affordable. When you hire us, we’ll clean and sand down the deck before staining it. If there are any repairs that need to be made, we can do that as well, so in the long run, you’re saving money by getting your deck stained regularly.
Get Professional Deck Staining from NW Surface Cleaner
These are just a few of the many advantages of deck staining. If you want the best deck staining services in Portland, NW Surface Cleaner is the right choice.
Since 1983, we’ve been helping Portland-area homeowners preserve and maintain their decks. Contact us today to learn more about our services and get a quote for your deck staining.