front-porch/deck and pergola BEFORE oil application
It took 16 gallons to cover the 4,200 square feet of visible deck surface.
I was left with little choice but to do the staining job after the wall of my pool ruptured and my practical, workaholic side kicked in.
Photos by Marc LaBossiere / Winnipeg Free Press
back-deck after being washed with a Zep wood deck pressure wash cleaner, which was left to sit for 15 minutes then rinsed
Occasionally a potential client will request to have a deck stained.
Due to my contempt for the process, a prompt and courteous reply details the following sentiment: "I build ’em, I don’t stain ’em." That said, it’s no secret decks built with treated lumber — and/or topped in composite materials — will generally withstand the harshness of our seasons for many years with very little maintenance.
However, the front and back decks on my property were built 13 and eight years ago, respectively. I began to notice a few summers ago all the exposed surfaces had progressively become sun-bleached.
In order to restore colour and protect the wood, it was inevitable — at some point, I’d have to face the music and do something about the surface of my decks. However, wasting hot, sunny days by the pool would be a shame — there are so few. And all that patio furniture would have to be moved off the decks, which seemed like a lot of work! It became very easy to procrastinate.
A few weeks ago, my above-ground pool made a summer decision for me. The pool wall at the pump return had corroded, rusted through over time from a slowly leaking gasket — the wall had opened up like a zipper.
Luckily and surprisingly, the pool liner held despite the enormous pressure of 40,000 litres of water that wanted to escape (it looked like a big blue balloon, below the deck). There is no fix — the wall needed to be replaced.
I have ordered the appropriate parts and have every intention to install the new pool wall over a weekend in August (quite possible it’s happening as you read this).
Soon after the pool debacle, a notion entered my brain: with the pool down, the curse of the practical workaholic took hold — what better time to refinish the decks?
It’s not as though I needed more things to do with the build of my South-side two-storey addition looming, but it made sense to get these decks done; this was the perfect time. So after a few days of deck refinishing research, I decided on a deep penetrating oil product made by Behr.
Although many people choose to ‘stain’ their decks, it has been my experience that unless the wood truly absorbs the product, ‘refinishing’ soon becomes an annual activity — a routine to be avoided at all costs!
A product that merely coats the surface looks great at first, but won’t endure the diversity of our climate.
After calculating the surface areas of the front-porch/deck and pergola, front parking fence, the two-tiered back-deck and pergola — and including all the railings — I determined that 4,200 square feet of visible surface area would require refinishing.
This meant 16 gallons of Behr Deep Penetrating Oil, based on the estimated coverage per gallon listed on the cans. I got 20, to be safe.
But first, properly cleaning the wood surfaces was highly recommended to ensure the best absorption once the oil application process began.
I chose a wood deck pressure-wash cleaning product by Zep and, with scrub brush in one hand and a hose in the other, cleaned all the top decking surfaces according to the instructions listed on the bottle of the deck cleaner. Simply stated, the cleaning solution consisted of one-part cleaner, one-part water and it was spread over the visible surface areas with a scrub brush and left to stand for 15 minutes before thoroughly being rinsed off at high pressure. The surfaces were then allowed to dry completely.
On the first day, I completed the front-porch/deck and pergola, as well as the fence-line that surrounds my front parking area. This took me roughly seven hours of non-stop work.
On the second day — which happened to be a very hot Saturday — my girlfriend, Carole, and I tackled the back-deck railings and the pergola. Despite the heat, we managed to get ’er done in just under eight hours total. On the third and final day, the heat was once again relentless, but Carole and I completed the remaining task of oiling the top surfaces of the two-tiered back-deck in just under five hours.
For the past few summers, my decks always looked best after it rained — when wet, hidden colour in the faded wood was revealed briefly, but soon vanished the moment the decks dried out. To create an ongoing wet look, I chose a tinted version of The Behr Deep Penetrating Oil product — the "Chocolate" option.
Although the resulting colour of my freshly oiled decks is slightly darker than the original colour of the brown-treated lumber that was used when the decks were first built, these decks will once again fade over time. I’m hoping that by choosing a darker colour, it will elongate that fading process. Coincidentally, the fascia on my house is also called "Chocolate," so I took this as a sign.
Oiling my decks was a huge undertaking and validated my disdain for the process! Without my lovely girlfriend’s help, it’s likely I’d still be out there, oiling yet another section of something.
However, it is hard to dispute the results. If memory serves me correctly, on only one occasion have I ever refinished a deck for hire — and I vowed never to undertake such a task again. Funny — when it’s a project at home, it seems easier to break those self-made promises.
This project was time well spent and I’m looking forward to many more years of maintenance-free deck use.
BossEnterprise@outlook.com
