Decks are a great addition to your house. If you are lucky enough to have a beautiful deck, then you know how much personality they add to your home.
Having additional living space outdoors for grilling and dining is an absolute dream. Not only can a deck increase curb appeal, but also extend your living space and up your property value.
However, alongside having a deck, it's crucial to understand that there are upkeep needs. A neglected deck might look bad. It is crucial to safeguard your deck by staining or painting it, since untreated and exposed wood can split, distort, and become discolored.
You may make sure that your deck lasts a lifetime or longer by maintaining it and safeguarding its surfaces.
Staining Your Deck
Staining a deck preserves the original appearance of the wood used to construct the deck while protecting it from environmental factors like UV rays and water damage. There are many various kinds of stains, but since they seem the most natural, you will probably use a semi-transparent stain or clear sealant.
Semi-transparent stains add some color while preserving the wood's organic features. The translucent stain performs a wonderful job of weatherproofing and UV protection while yet letting patterns come through.
For more upscale situations where wood planks are precious and lovely, a transparent sealant is applied. Clear sealers are typically applied to cedar and redwood, and they are meant to highlight rather than conceal your hardwood deck.
Solid stains are another option; they apply more like paint and conceal most of the wood's original grain and structure.
Pros of Staining Your Deck
Staining your deck has several benefits that outweigh its drawbacks. You may have greater control over the natural appearance of a deck by sealing or staining it. You may decide how much color, grain, and texture will be shown by staining.
Additionally, good stains penetrate the wood rather than just covering it. By doing this, you can stop decay from happening to the deep tissues of your deck. Additionally, stain enables you to show off your hardwood deck rather than disguising it with paint.
Although staining or sealing your deck is an excellent method to protect it and highlight its beauty, there are a few drawbacks.
Cons of Staining Your Deck
For starters, staining a deck only lasts a few years and needs to be periodically restricted or sealed. Stains often last between three and five years, on average.
Additionally, stains don't seal cracks; even if they penetrate deeply into the wood, you still need to fill in any minor crevices or holes to prevent splinters and fractures. Wood faults cannot be concealed by staining, and not all types of wood respond well to treatment.
You can make an informed choice about whether to paint, seal, or stain your deck by having an understanding of the type of wood product you want to use to construct your deck.
Painting Your Deck
The simple act of painting your deck is another option for maintenance. The lovely, organic beauty of wood is lost when you paint your deck, but it is long-lasting and creates a consistent appearance. Like anything else, painting your deck has advantages and disadvantages.
Professionally painted decks can last as long as ten years before needing to be recoated. However, it’s not an easy job when that time comes.
Paint keeps moisture inside the wood, whereas sealing sinks into the wood and stops moisture from penetrating. The paint on the deck will eventually fracture and peel as a result of the moisture-induced swelling. After painting a deck, switching to stain is extremely difficult, without investing a lot of time and effort in sanding and stain preparation.
The main benefit of painting a deck is that painting offers more color selections than staining does. Painting your deck a unique color to complement your home will make it far simpler to conceal defects than staining or sealing will.
Should I Paint Or Stain My Deck
Both painting and staining are excellent strategies to safeguard and accentuate your deck, so the advantages and disadvantages of each balance out in the end. This leaves the decision of whether to paint, seal, or stain your deck up to personal choice. The decision is ultimately up to you (although there are some with a very definite opinions on this).
Just as important as resurfacing your deck is preparing it to be resurfaced with paint or stain. Hiring a professional to pressure wash your deck will keep the headache of painting and staining to a minimum. A skilled specialist will be able to precisely and promptly provide you with a reasonable quote and prepare your deck as needed flawlessly.
Mobile Magic knows how important a clean, prepped deck is when you are painting or staining. We use commercial-grade cleaning chemicals along with our pressure washers to clean off buildup, grime, and other much from surfaces such as concrete, roofs, furniture, or decks. Not only can we take care of your deck, but also your fence, deck or outdoor furniture!
Since 2001, Mobile Magic has offered pressure washing services to private residences, commercial buildings, office buildings, flats, and condominiums. Window washing, pressure washing, deck cleaning, siding cleaning, soft washing concrete, cleaning parking lots, and cleaning solar panels are some of our areas of expertise.
Contact us today for more information on our services and rates.
