Hi,
I’m building a small deck on the outside of our house. I am planning on using knotty red cedar 2x6s as the planking. Should I stain the boards (both sides) before installing them? The small deck is covered by an overhang from our house so it won’t get that wet, but is it still a good idea to stain all sides (or is that overkill)? Any recomendation on stains? We have used Sherwin Williams paint in the past so I might check out what they have. Also besides the knots, is there any other difference between clear and knotty cedar? Also, should I sand the 2x6s before screwing them down (i.e. the end cuts, take out any rough areas)?
Thanks
Edited 7/21/2004 11:09 am ET by nic
Replies
It's a good idea to stain all 4 sides whenever possible - I wouldn't consider that over-kill. As far as ext stains, I've had excellent results with Benjamin Moore.
have fun, Carl
I use the BM paints but have not used the stains. However, I have stained decks where the HO bought sikkens brand stains. Not bad. Comes in quite a few different colors.
good luck
oh to answer the question, go ahead and stain all sides....how long can it take ya know?Thats not a blemish....we call that character
decks are alot of maintence !! if i were to do what you are talking about i would use penofin which is a penatrating oil . the other product i had good luck with is sikkens they have 2 diffrent systems you can use .
truth be told i would never put another deck on a home that i owned !! i have built alot of them as a carpenter and was proud of them after i was done . thats why i put them on my home but gezz the upkeep is a pain !
My home has a 12 year old pt deck -- never been stained. Great ashen, silver tone that cannot be duplicated in a paint store. The #### of it is, you get a lot of checking, leading to foot slivers. In Michigan, where the sun is kind, deck preserving should be considered optional. When the deck falls apart in 15 years, I'll replace it.
Carl
I am just about to stain my deck, and after doing some research around here, I went with a product called TWP (Total Wood Protectant). I had trouble locating it here in the Northeast, but I have heard that it is available elsewhere at some Sherwin Williams stores. I ended up ordering it directly from their web site (www.mfgsealants.com), and their 500 series was $150 for a 5 gallon bucket. I'll be putting it down next week and will check back as to how it went on.
Do a seach through past postings on this stuff....seems more than a few folks like it.
Steve C.