Gent,
Looking for some advice. Just installed a deck in Anchorage Alaska. I used 2×6″ cedar decking. When I installed it, some of the decking was obviously much heavier than the other planks, which I interpret as containing lots of moistrue. The decking we have available here Alaska is not kiln dried. I suspect it is cut and sold green and comes in a variaty of different amounts of dryness depending on how long it has sat in the lumber yard.
My question is now about finishing it. Because some of the planks appeared to be green, after it was installed I have let it set for the last month to dry. I don’t have a moisture meter, but suspect some of the planks would really need a year or 2 in order to get to an equalibrium moisture state. I do not have much time left to finish the deck before snow falls. (Typically mid october). I am planning on finishing with a clear urathane deck finish. The quesiton I have for you experts is do I try to finish the deck now, or wait until next summer. If I wait, the deck will be unprotected from the elements. If I finish now, I am concerned the moisture in the wood will lift the finish. What do you recommend?
Thanks for the advice,
Greg
Replies
My experience with applying clear coatings on decks in the late autumn has been poor. They don't get enough heat to dry during the day, the cool night dew can penetrate the finish and leave it cloudy.
I haven't had any problems applying water based urethanes on un-evenly seasoned cedar, but my concern would be that as you are only coating the top of the boards, the finish will probably not last very long as moisture will continue to be absorbed from below. Most of the decks I've done that way with sikkens (sp?) need re-coating yearly.
I do work at a resort with decks that get a lot of traffic and I have recently switched to Penofin penetrating stain. It offers excellent protection for the wood, requires much less prep for re-coating and can be walked on almost immediately.
Edit: Aren't you supposed to be grizzly hunting with Sarah Palin at this time of year?
Edited 9/5/2008 2:31 pm ET by fingersandtoes
Nah,
If I went hunting with her, I might get stuck with being Secretary of State or something. I'd hate to have to move back to Washington DC.
Cheers,
Greg
I'd hit it with a coat of penofin now - let it dry through the bottom unfinisiehd surface, and re-apply top when dry early summer next year.
Use polyurethene on it now and it will flake or crack with wood movement and you will be sanding to refinish in a year.
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Thanks for the reply. Looks like next summer it is. I'll just tell my wife, since food doesn't rot in the freezer, the deck won't rot over the course of the winter.
Cheers,
Greg
I haver just started using Penofin. Have you had good luck with it?
Great stuff. I don't know if I ever want to use anything else.But - if you are doing it on your hands and knees om a hot day, do wear a respirator! I walked in the other day after eight hours of that and first thing wife said was, "Are you drunk?!"
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I read that Penofin pulled out of the big box stores because they would have been forced to move their manufacturing overseas to compete if they continued to sell through them.
Sounds like a good company all round.
Sounds like my kind of company.Except that since the brazilian nut oil they make it from is an overseas product to begin with....;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
It would be a lifelong maintenance job if you use a film forming finish like urethane on the deck. The deck boards need to be checked with a moisture meter. New lumber has what is called mill scale. The surface pores are closed up due to the milling. Aging/exposure helps open up the surface so it will accept a finish. It's better to use an oxygenated deck cleaner, applied with a garden sprayer, scrubbed lightly with a brush and rinsed with a gentle hose. No power washers.
There are quite a few different deck finishes specifically formulated for species like cedar. Those that form a film coating will peel. To reapply, you have to strip and start over. Some products, like Penofin have to be reapplied every year for several years. I look for a lasting, low maintenance option. I've been using Defy products for a few years and like them. Regardless of the product you choose, you should follow the proper prep steps and not rush the finish, it won't last and you will have to start again. This site has some good information about finishing decks. They offer a wide range of products and good info.
http://www.opwdecks.com/defyproducts.htm
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
"clear urathane deck finish"
I don't know what you are using, lots of missused names in products.
But if you are talking about some kind of varnish or film forming product I would NEVER use it.
To get you through the winter you might want to put Flood Seasonite on it.
http://www.flood.com/flood/International/seasonite_prod_page.htm
Now it only shows up under International Products. So I don't know if mihgt have been renamed, rebranded under a sister brand or not available in the US.
But it does show up online at some suppliers.
http://tinyurl.com/5rh7yp
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
The product I was considering using is made by a company called US Coating Solutions, and is a 2 part cross linking Urethane. The deck is first cleaned with a brightener, then a "primer" is applied they call a saturant, then finally the crosslinking product. The stuff looks pretty good on the web site, and it had been applied in Northern Minnesota, which is a pretty similar climate to Alaska. The stuff is pretty darn pricey. Based on price, it should work. Ha Ha. I have spent alot of time researching what to put on the deck, and there seem to be a hundred different opinions. It seems that the majority opinion is that if it forms a film, it will eventually blister or peel. Hence the first post I put here. Should I paint, or should I wait until next summer. Thanks for all the good inputs. Has anybody ever used this product before?
Thanks,
Greg
Do a little more research and find out if it is a moisture cured product. if so, you might be able to go ahead now.The problem tho with all the film forming coats for horizontal surafces, is that once cured, iot IS the size and shape it will remain wityh very little movement.But the wood under it will shrink as it dries and expand when soused wet, leading to cracks in the surface that grow and degrade the finish.An oil product like Penofin penetrates the wood and adheres to the individual wood cells and moves with the wood while resisting water and UV damage.
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The type of cedar you're using up there changes a great deal in appearance with exposure to the elements, so I would want to finish it this year. I'll second penofin. Great stuff.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.