You should certainly protect your deck from unnecessary moisture intrusion and the harmful effects of the sun's ultra-violet rays. Use of a penetrating stain, containing water repellant ingredients in most cases will protect your deck best. The pigment in the stain will absorb the ultra-violet rays from the sun and protect the wood fibers from degradation. In most cases a stain will need maintenance every 2-4 years while clear sealers require maintenance every 1-2 years.

I prefer to use a large brush or a mop. You want to get large amounts of Stain Solver liquid on the deck surface. Hand pump sprayers often apply too little solution to the surface. If you must use a sprayer, make sure the product has dissolved completely or you will clog the nozzle! Also, be sure you spray on lots of liquid.

Ans: The insulating additive will help keep the deck cooler while providing a slightly slip resistant surface.

On a horizontal surface, Penofin may be expected to perform for an average of 9-18 months and 3-5 years on a vertical surface. The time will vary depending on the percentage of sunlight, weather, etc... Yes. All Penofin wood finish colors contain the same ingredients, just different amounts of colored pigments. However, you will not be able to make the surface lighter by applying a lighter shade. As always, you should test a small area before use.

No, "New Wood Defender" is recommended on pressure treated wood, as well as Cedar and Redwood during the first year of weathering. Wood Defender is a latex based product used to stabilize new exterior wood. This product is treated with fungicide to prevent the growth of mildew.

Even though the lumber may be kiln-dried before treatment, using water-borne preservatives restores moisture to the wood. Too much moisture in the wood may prevent the stain or paint from penetrating the wood sufficiently. It is best to test the wood by painting or staining a scrap piece to see if it applies properly. If not, wait until it does. A water repellent should be applied annually. Do not use latex paints. Semi-transparent, oil-based stains work best.

Peeling is generally a sign of a lot of excess film on the surface and not enough penetration. This could be due to surface contamination, high moisture content in the wood, a previous stain not allowing the new stain to penetrate, or a wet on dry application instead of wet on wet.

A film forming coating is a product that does not penetrate into the wood completely. A product that does not penetrate can result in premature peeling and or flaking. All of our wood deck stains will penetrate into the wood when applied properly.

Crystal Clear sealers will not filter out UV rays for very long or at all. A transparent tinted sealer acts like sunglasses for your wood, filtering the UV rays and prolonging discoloration. You can use a clear sealer but it will gray very quickly.

Pressure treated wood will not rot, but it will cup, warp, split and splinter if it is not sealed so water will not absorb and then evaporate in a number of cycles

The product does not require traditional timber treatments or any other kind of treatment BUT it will of course require normal cleaning with a pressure washer or hose/brush with a weak bleach solution or proprietary deck cleaning product to remove surface debris.

Typically, all wood fence should not be stained or painted until a minimum of 60 days after installation. We recommend you check with your local paint store for the proper method of application.

Sometimes you can use Chlorine Bleach. Chlorine will usually remove some stains, particularly dye stains that Oxalic Acid won't. But chlorine won't penetrate very deeply so if you do much sanding you may sand down to the stain again. Oxalic Acid will usually remove water, alkali and rust stains. Two-Part Wood Bleach will also remove these stains but it also removes the natural color from the wood. Both Oxalic Acid and Two-Part Wood Bleach should be available at most paint stores.

The ideal time to stain new wood is one to three months after installation. Some new wood surfaces, like smooth cedar, can have a glazed, shiny surface, called mill glaze that prevents maximum penetration of Semi-Transparent Stain. All new wood, especially decks, should be prepared with Flood’s PowerLift (1qt to 1 ½ gal water), StainStrip (1:1 with water) or FloodPro Stripper/Cleaner (1 qt to 1 gal water) according to directions to remove the mill glaze.

Answer: The insulating additive will help keep the deck cooler while providing a slightly slip resistant surface.

The available historical evidence shows that Eichler used stains, not paint, on his homes, inside and out. One can speculate that, at least for the vertical-grooved siding, stains were employed so that the grooves stayed crisp and clean (the edges weren't softened by the paint), and some of the grain of the wood showed through (redwood siding was used throughout the 1950s). It is also possible that Eichler used stains because labor and materials costs were lower than for paint.

We do offer "certain styles of pre-primed balusters" but we do not do any painting or staining of any kind.

Jennings joinery prefers to paint or stain prior to glazing and assembly to properly seal the product. Also when using 6.38 Laminated glass (which is thicker than normal glass), if the inside rebate is not painted or stained prior to glazing then after the product is glazed the unsealed surface behind the glass edge is visible and un protected. Also after the bi-folds have been installed it is very difficult to coat the top and bottom of the doors to seal then correctly.

When you're looking for a painted-kind-of-look to match you home exterior, or when the deck has been totally neglected, solid stains hide and conceal any cosmetic imperfections that the lumber may have.

The answer depends on several factors. Strong, light hemlock makes a superb painting surface. Cedar, an excellent stain grade wood and is highly resistant to rot and insects. Mahogany's tight, smooth grain surface is very weather-resistant and also an excellent stain grade wood.

That will probably seal them in. It may solve your problem, but will give a pebbly appearance to your paint job. Each repainting will seal in the artillery fungus even more. There are no fungicides legally registered (by EPA) against the artillery fungus. Bleach, if it worked, would be very temporary, as it leaches out with each rain. We tested 14 different fungicides in the laboratory, but have to take the experiment to the field.

Aesthetics: Clearly the outside of your home is a great source of pride. Having a manicured lawn and beautiful, clean deck allow for a great outdoor living experience. Entertaining, cook outs with family and friends on clean, protected surfaces create joyful memories that last for years to come. The best way you can protect your deck is power wash cleaning and professionally applied protection products.

All of our products are high end. Certain products will do better then others depending on your particular environment or type of wood that you have. If you came to our store looking for a certain brand name then we would suggest sticking with that. Please email us if you have any questions and we will be more then happy to suggest a certain brand depending on your situation.

That's an opinion call, but if you do, you will have to do it again every year. We recommend letting it grey naturally and washing it 2 or 3 times/year with Sunlight dishwashing soap to keep it clean and pollution-free.

Creative Wood Products has their own private label stain called Deck Gold. Deck Gold is an oil based semi-transparent sealer and stain in one. It is a unique blend of resin, pigment oil, mildewcide and UV protectors that penetrate deeply into the wood to protect and preserve it. Deck Gold can be used on all types of wood except Redwood. We also carry Superdeck Products, Superdeck is a natural oil, transparent stain designed to maintain the beauty of your wood.

No, not without proper surface preparation. Recommendation is to clean surface and remove previous finish, usually by use of a pressure washer or sanding.

Quite frankly, we don't know and don't care. Both are effective. It really depends on what type of look you are trying to get from you shed. Plus, we are carpenters, not painters. Call a painter to get his opinion on which are better.

We recommend painting or staining after assembly. The rungs of the ladders sometimes are a tight fit and the finish may get marked up during assembly. Also, the wood glue used in the notched legs adheres better to unfinished wood. It is also much easier to paint or stain it when it is set up as opposed to all the individual pieces on the floor. If you paint it, we recommend you put a good primer coat, and two finish coats of a durable enamel paint.

One of the benefits of vinyl windows is never needing to strip, paint or stain them. Painting your vinyl windows can void your warranty.

No, staining is translucent and will appear marbled or old aged. Paint is generally more uniform and will peel.