Good Deck Maintenance Just Takes Common Sense
// July 17th, 2010 // Comments // Real Estate
Each year while at the Minnesota State Fair, we see the same old booth that offers a five year warranty on deck floors. Many manufacturers put wording on their paint cans that publicize long guaranties. But when you read the fine print, we have yet to find anyone who will back up a guaranty on a typical deck floor in Minnesota. Our favorite small print on the guaranty is from one manufacturer that gives a 3 year warranty, so long as the deck is re-coated yearly!
The best stains are from Sherwin Williams, PPG, ICI, Glidden, Hirshfields, X-100, Floods, CWF, Deckscapes, Cabots, Sikens SRD, TWP, and others. All of them have good products, but there are no magic products that last significantly longer than their competition. Be sure to employ a coating that’s compatible with the prior one, as this’ll help keep the price to maintain the deck lower.
Consumer Reports magazine is usually a good resource for many products , but for staining decks their recommendation is not applicable to Minnesota. They like to recommend employing a solid stain for best longevity, but you do not need to do that if you’re inthis is totally wrong for Minnesota. In Minnesota, we experience an enormous quantity of freeze heat up cycles. When deck boards get wet and then freeze, the water expands and pushes the coating off. If the coating is a penetrating stain that does not leave a film, there’s not much to no coating to bump off. ( less is better for decks ) As a semitransparent wears away, it would seem more and more country. If a solid coating is applied on a horizontal surface, it will peel and look unsightly. It does not look rustic, it looks worn out and in disrepair. When it comes to making an attempt to make a deck coated with a solid stain stunning once again, the price of scraping and sanding before re-staining makes it much dearer than employing a semi-transparent stain instead.
Schoenfelder Painting is a deck sealing Minneapolis company that paints or seals over 500 decks each a year. We are adept at using most any type of deck finishing system, but have developed some preferences. We strongly recommend using a semi transparent stain on deck floors. It’s a little harder to apply, but holds up as well as anything. More importantly it is good even as it wears away and it wOn’t peel. Semitransparent stain is also the least pricey to redo in 2 years. It only must be washed and reapplied. Finally it looks good even after many applications, so the long run maintenance is really cost-effective. Semi-transparent also comes in several different tints.
The railings, shafts, bottom sides and skirts can be done with the same product and color. That is how I treated the deck on my home. If you make efforts to maintain your deck every second spring, it may continue to look amazing for several years to come. We are proud to be your provider of exterior painting Minneapolis.
The only consideration to semitransparent stain is that you can not use it over other preservatives or paint. If your deck was painted during the past, additional prep is needed. In these cases, we typically sand the decks down to the bare wood using floor sanders. We take off nearly 100% of the prevailing stain or paint that’s on the floor, the steps and top of the rail. Our clients love the result. Your deck feels as new again. Sanding only costs roughly $1.25 per square foot and does not need to be done again for 10+ years. The feel of your well cared for deck floor, precious! So just remember that if you need deck staining professionals we are here for you.

















































