Your deck is a very important investment. You’ve spent a lot of money on having your deck built. Now it’s time to protect it. There are a lot of choices when it comes to preparing for deck staining St. Louis. This article will hopefully help you make a educated choice when it comes to choosing a deck staining St. Louis deck staining company.

What To Look For When Hiring A Deck Staining/Pressure Washing St. Louis Company

A lot of people looking to make a few extra dollars look at deck staining as something they can do to make a few extra dollars. While we don’t have a problem with that, we are finding many people are misguided when told how to stain decks. There are three very important elements in deck restoration St. Louis that many people don’t know about.

The first and most important step when it comes to deck staining St. Louis is stripping the failing stain off the deck. As a professional deck staining company, many times we see one type of stain applied over an existing stain that are not even part of the same family (example is a latex stain over a oil based stain). For true deck restoration, and for a stain job that will last the old stain has to be removed. The best way to do this is use a deck stripping chemical that will loosen the stain from the wood, then followed by a low pressure rinse to remove the stain. Sometimes sanding is required to remove any leftover stain. It’s best to use no more than a 80 grit sandpaper to make sure the pores in the wood are left open to absorb the wood stain we are using.

After this step is finished, the next phase in deck restoration St. Louis is to brighten the deck. Brightening is a chemical process that will neutralize the ph in the wood from deck stripping, plus it will rejuvenate the wood, bringing the wood back to life. Once the wood dries out, the wood will be ready for deck staining.

Now that your deck is stripped and brightened, it is ready for deck staining St. Louis. Now for some homeowners this is the tricky point. We all want something to last. We all understand that there is a lot of money spent on restoring your deck. Now its time to choose the right stain. First, and I hate to tell you this, but nothing last forever. I know that Behr claims there stain last from 3 years, 5 years, and I have even seen 8 years. That’s not entirely true. On a vertical surface, yes, the stain is going to last longer because there is no foot traffic, no weather standing on it, etc. But the floors rarely last that long. One thing about Behr is their stain formulation is a latex/acrylic based stain (almost like a paint). When applying Behr, it doesn’t soak into the wood , giving the wood a good protection. It just “lays” on top of the wood, making the appearance look good, but not really protecting the wood at all. It is our recommendation to stay away from Behr deck stains, or any latex/acrylic based deck stains.

Oil Based deck stains are the best stains to choose from. A good oil based stain will penetrate the wood correctly, and give you a good color on your deck, and give your deck good protection. An oil based stain will protect the interior of your wood, and there will be no worry about your deck peeling or flaking like you would see with a latex/acrylic based stain. In 18-24 months, your floor will begin to see some fading. But that is not an issue. At that point, all you would need is a gentle wash and a reapplication of the deck stain. (as long as the deck was prepped correctly to begin with).

As we mentioned in our first paragraph, and we are finding out as we are doing a lot of deck restoring St. Louis estimates, there are lot of people advertising deck staining these days. Bids that we have done, we are being told at they have bids at less than half of our bid. We understand the economic choices are of high importance, but we also understand that on a deck that is roughly 500 square feet, there is no way a company can strip the deck, brighten the deck, stain the deck with two coats on the horizontals and one coat on the verticals, and do this for $300 or less AND stay in business. Chances are if a company does this, they are either cutting corners on YOUR investment and your deck staining job will last 6 months or they will not be in business next year. Then you wont be able to call them back, and now you will have to deal with your deck restoration St. Louis project all over again.

At Marler’s , we understand we are not the lowest price company when it comes to deck staining St. Louis. Deck restoration is almost like an art form. When done correctly, there is a lot of labor that goes into preparing a deck for a lasting deck finish. And we want our customers to call us back when the time comes for their deck to need a maintenance coat. We don’t want our customers to have the hassle of dealing with a different company every single time they need to have their deck redone. We want our customers to have the piece of mind knowing their deck was done right to begin with.

Our deck restoration prices start at $700. We use premium grade deck staining products made by Armstrong-Clark, giving your deck and your investment the best protection on the market today. Call us today for your free deck staining St. Louis estimate or for any other pressure washing St. Louis services you many be in need of.

Comments (2)

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Always have to strip?
written by Brett, October 27, 2010

So the first paragraph says you always have to take the old finish off, yet further down it says n 18 to 24 months you just need a gentle wash and reapplication. So if I know what is on my deck and am staying with the same oil stain I don't necessarily have to strip it? I'm I understanding you correctly?

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Always have to strip
written by Don, October 27, 2010

Brett, if you know what oil based stain is on there, you are good to not strip, unless there are a ton of coats on there already and then we suggest stripping the deck. But if you only have one coat or two, you should be able to wash and recoat using the same oil based stain.

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