Don't Let This Happen To You! The Cedar Deck Incident!
74TO STAIN OR NOT TO STAIN? THAT IS THE QUESTION!
Three years ago, my wife and I undertook the sometimes painful task of home remodeling. We added a 20 x 20 room and a beautiful cedar plank and rail deck. The room is beautiful. So is the deck (in theory).
The problem was this. We messed up big time waiting to stain the fresh cedar! Being so dazzled by it's beauty, we were completely stupefied! Blinded!Too much time was spent in ignorant admiration and not enough in effort. We simply waited too long to stain the wood! Blasted!
Here's our story:
After countless hours of laborious planning and construction, my 'brilliant' thought process went something like this. Wow! This deck is beautiful! Just look at how nice that fresh-off-the-truck cedar looks! I want to keep it that way!
Let's stain it! -- Now!
Yeah! That would be great!! -- (That would've also been smart). -- But we waited some more. Don't know why. Still blinded I guess. Or cedar drunk!
"Let's pick out a color," my wife chimed.
"Not a problem," I added. "And the best deck sealant as well." (By this time the deck had been weathered but still looked decent; or so we assumed).
So off we go to the local Lowe's and get our stain. And much to our happy, happy joy, the search didn't take long. We quickly found what we were looking for and motored back home. Our shiny new deck would soon be encapsulated for generations; or so we assumed (again).
After sun bathing for about 5 weeks, most of the deck's shiny new skin could still be seen. So we joyfully applied the most expensive deck stain our rollers could dip into and journeyed on toward deck nirvana. That was the last of the happy, happy joy time.
The Results:
I can't recall the exact date and time but it wasn't long before our freshly-stained deck morphed into our freshly-peeling deck. And then our freshly-diminishing-in-appearance deck. And eventually our headache deck of epic proportion. It looked awful. Still does. See the photos! Ugh!
Our lesson:
In short, allow your new cedar deck to be naked for two weeks max. If you wait longer than that, the woody freshness (all nice and sexy for sure) will wane to a dull gray. The window of opportunity will shut tighter than a croc on a log.
For us, the task ahead is the painstaking process of sanding, power washing, and finally restaining our deck. Not a happy, happy, joy time for sure!
Oh, and did I mention we used the most expensive stain we could find. Brilliant!
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Comments
Rob,
Yikes! You have a job ahead of you now! Good luck with that one... post some pictures when you have finished it!
I'll keep you posted when we get it done. It'll be awhile for sure. Thanks.
I know you probably tried this but, did you try using a deck wash? Bleach is good for cleaning decks and restoring them somewhat.
Cedar drunk! Ha! A hard-learned lesson.
lol, this is why i stopped undertaking projects. me and follow through, not always the best of buds.
at least it isnt years worth of damage, but make sure you have the time free and the will power to sand through and stain fast. can't wait to see the finished product.
I have seen many others make the same mistake, you are not alone if that is any consolation. You will have a good laugh with this after the restoration is complete!
I appreciate all your kind words of encouragement. If my wife and I had the time and fortitude we might tackle this beast this year. Bids to have it done are sure to be outrageous.
The pictures do a great job of illustrating your situation. Thanks for sharing your experience. We can all learn from it.
I have read dozens of stories of cedar deck restoration but a yet to read of anyboby using my solution of silmply unscrewing the deck boards and turning them over.I cleaned and then used a brightener and now have a new looking cedar deck.
Jeff J:
THAT is a great idea! I'm out to give it a try! Really!
Thanks!
It doesn't matter if you waited or not, we stained ours right after we had it done, and I think mine looks worse than yours. We have sanded and stripped and restained it about 3 times in the last 5 years and it continues to peel every year. I have yet to find a solution to this deck problem short of getting rid of it. Hope you find a solution to your problem because we are still searching. If you find one, let me know.
Connie, Sorry to hear about your deck. Ours still looks bad, but word is that once I powerwash it, my next step is to seal it without a stain. Hopefully that will work. I'll let you know... Thanks for stopping by!
SirDent says:
2 years ago
Sorry you had to go through way you did to learn how to do it right. Any wood that is left to weather will turn colors quickly. Even treated wood will lose it's color.
I am glad you shared this with everyone.