# Deck problems



## mark942 (Feb 2, 2008)

JIM,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,DO NOT PAINT YOUR DECK!!!!!!!!!
You will regret it!!!!!!!!!
Decks can be a finicky little critter. IMO. I would leave it alone until the stain you have on it has worn down a bit.I have found a product that is amazing to me.I usually do not recommend any one product in particular,but this one has got to be hands down the best I have ever seen. I live in a Log home with a wrap around deck,I have used this product on every thing.Logs/decking/rails. It comes in a few colors and is pretty expensive.But it works and lasts for years. YES YEARS!!!!! I live in NE PA and the product has been delivered to me next day after I placed my order.Mind you I placed it in the am. But have you a look. http://www.blairstowndistributors.com/woodguard.php Good Luck


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## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

I agree with Mark, do not paint the deck and let it weather. Was any stain/sealer applied before 2006? How long are you waiting after you pressure wash before you stain?


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## Docfletcher (Aug 1, 2007)

Mark942, I have a deck problem much like Jim's. I would like to know if you feel woodguard will adhere to areas of older solid Cabot stain still remaining. It is not oil based.


I also have a natural ceder shed, on which I tried www.seal-once.com 

I have not been entirely satisfied with it. I don't know if the fault is with me or the product. I do know that they claim a lot, a whole lot for the product. Some which, but by no means all...

It seems I only got 2 years out of it on the shed. 

 Waterproofs, *prevents mold and mildew*; UV protection.
• Penetrates wood up to 3/8".
• Helps prevent cracking, splitting and warping.
• Water-based, odorless and non-flammable.
• Will not burn skin.
• Will not harm fish, plants, pets, or livestock.
• Clear formula maintains natural wood color.
• Tinted formulas add color without hiding grain.
• Safe to use over fresh and saltwater.
Lasts 10 years vertical 6 years horizontal


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## mark942 (Feb 2, 2008)

Hi Doc
Unfortunately you have a solid bodied stain in place. I looked @ your link and found that the fence they refer to was let to cure and turn it`s natural gray.As what should be done with fence, decks,and deck rails.Then they applied their product to it.Which is a clear.Again what should be used. In your case you have a solid bodied stain, then put this product over the top of it in the hopes to get their claim of 15 years.(My assumption may be wrong) With that all being said,it might be to your advantage for you to contact Blairstown to ask them what they would think about your particular situation. I have contacted them a number of times to ask about woodgard. Of course they were happy to help me.But they also know their product and knew just what I was asking them.Their product did just what they said it would.I really couldn't make comment as to what woodgard will do covering over a solid bodied stain. What I would do is get a gallon of their clear and do a test area just to see.Time is on your side with this.The more time you let the old stain work itself away the better results you will have with the next application of what ever product you decide to use. Please let me know how things progress for you,as I am very interested. Hope all of this was of some help.


47/47
I know Springville NY very well. Ever fish the Cattaraugus Creek? Scoby hill dam? Almost bought the house on the corner of main st,The one with the giant turret.Small world.Great little township to.


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## Docfletcher (Aug 1, 2007)

With regard to the ceder shed, the seal-once was a pigmented stain. I was hoping to prevent graying of the wood. After 2 years however, it would seem it is beginning to gray in some areas.

As for the deck I would like to use another solid. I'm reluctant to use a oil base product because it would be applied over some water based areas, second because oil stuff is being phased out. Raising concerns over future availability.

Deck is over 24 years old. Really showing it's age. Very rough surface. 

Thanks for your input. I will contact the woodgard folks. 

Thanks again, Doc


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## 47_47 (Sep 11, 2007)

Mark, 
Yes it's a small world. Don't hunt or fish and moved to Concord about 9 miles from the village from the burbs of Buffalo about 12 years ago. It is a nice town, but I don't know when you left but they built a Walmart and Lowes on Cascade in my short time.
Sorry to the op.

Mike


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Jun 17, 2008)

Jim:

I know this is advice you may not want to hear, but painting your deck will only create a new problem. Here's why:

In order for any coating to stand up well on a floor that people walk on with their shoes, it has to be HARD. Otherwise dirt gets embedded in the coating underfoot and you soon start to see the floor getting real dirty in the traffic lanes. The only way to prevent that from happening is to use a hard coating that dirt won't get embedded in.

Unfortunately, hardness and rigidity go hand in hand, and hard coatings are rigid, which means they can't stretch very far.

But, wood is a natural material and it continuously absorbs and releases humidity to and from the air around it. And, when wood's moisture content goes up due to seasonal changes in humidity, the wood cell walls thicken, and the result is that the wood swells (mostly across it's grain). (It also swells along it's grain, but the movement across it's grain is typically about 80 times as much as the movement along it's grain.)

And, the hard coatings you need to stand up well as a floor simply aren't elastic enough to stretch and shrink with the wood. The result is that they'd soon start to crack and peel.

So, then you'd have peeling paint over much of your deck, which wouldn't help matters. Or, if you used a softer coating that could stretch and shrink with the wood (like exterior oil based paint or any latex paint) then the traffic lanes would soon start to darken, and the deck would soon look "dirty" all the time.

There simply is no coating that's both hard and elastic at the same time.


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