Deck Staining – While painting the entire outside of a house might be impossible for most home-owners, staining a deck is a project that can be done in one weekend, and save you a good amount of cash. First time home-buyers are often unaware of the costs associated with maintaining a cedar deck. The majority of the cost is in labor, so by doing it yourself you save roughly 80%!
This article will explain in step-by-step detail, procedures we use to produce a professionally refinished decks that can battle our damp Northwest climate. We will also point out three areas where things can go wrong so you can be prepared.
What you need:
- Pressure washer.A reliable machine can be rented from the local hardware store for about$60.00 per day.
- BEHR Premium 2-In-1 Deck Cleaner. Available from the hardware store. $20.00. This is the only BEHR product we use for this, or any other project.
- Empty 5Gallon bucket, carwash brush, or a garden sprayer. This is used to apply the deck cleaner. There are no specific methods here. The idea is to get the material on all surfaces, however you can.
- Makita GV5010 5-Inch Disc Sander available at the local Home Depot for $89.99. This is the only power sander that will work for this project. What will NOT work for this project: Belt-sanders, palm-sanders, and hardwood floor sanders.
- Sanding disks for your Makita sander. How many you need will depend on the size of your deck. Each disk will provide roughly 20 minutes of sanding. The average 400sqft deck will use up about 10 disks at $3 each.
- Garden Blower
- TWP Fence and Deck StainAvailable from the local Dunn Lumber store. $40 per gallon. The average 400sqft deck will use up about 3 gallons of stain. This stain comes in a few different colors, but most of our clients prefer TWP 101 Natural Cedar Tone.
- Stain brush. We recommend purchasing the largest meanest brush you can find. Keep in mind stain brushes are not designed to produce straight lines. $15.00
- Clean-up rags. You can use any old clothing or towels.
