Painting A Deck Or Staining A Deck
Are you getting ready to hire a deck refinishing contractor or thinking of doing the work yourself? And are you struggling with the decision of staining or painting your wooden deck? Keep reading, and hopefully we can help you make the right choice. We are going to give you our recommendation on what type of coat system you should applied on your wooden deck depending on the existing finish it might have on.
A wood deck is a great element for your exterior home
We all like the aesthetic of a wood deck, and we can appreciate the detail of different wood grains patterns and the warmth of nature due to the different wood tones. Wooden decks are great because they keep a home from looking bland and can at times define the look of a home. Whether you are trying to make your home compliment the pines of the outdoors or trying to make your home capture that beach house feeling. But for the most part all wood decks need some type of deck coating to protect the wood from the rain, insects, and sun UVA rays. When exterior wood is not protected or seal is just a matter of time before the wood begins to decay and warp. An application of a good wooden deck coating should conserve the wood on the deck for some or many years depending on the deck coating system. There are many different types of specialty and conventional wooden deck coatings. But for the simplification of this article we are going to focus on painting a deck vs staining a deck.
Pros and cons of painting or staining a deck
If you are thinking of painting a deck, there are some pros and cons to keep in mind. For starters, painting lets you choose various colors and you are not limited to wooden-tones. This allows for you to select a color that can complement the exterior of your home or contrast it if you are feeling daring. The possibilities are endless as are the shades and hues. Painting last longer compared to staining and is also easier to maintain. However, the cons of painting are that it can be more expensive and time-consuming because it requires more prep work and coat-applications.
If you are considering going with a staining look, there are some pros and cons to also keep in mind. One of them is that staining accentuates the natural wood grain, as well as the original tint of the wood, this process can produce beautiful results. The application process is rather easy because it requires less steps to apply. Thus, is less expensive. However, staining has a shorter life span than paint. It doesn't have as much variation when it comes to color and sheen level selection.
How to seal a new wood deck?
If your deck is new, your choice and decision should be easy. Staining your wooden deck is the best option. Why? for starters, staining a new deck is less expensive, it's a quicker job, and is a more beautiful finish than a painting deck look. When staining a new deck, there is less labor involved, and less materials is required, which is why it is usually cheaper than a painted deck job. Also when painting a wooden deck a primer is need it and two coats fo a deck paint, which takes more time to finish the project. On the other hand, staining only requires one coat and less time to complete. Finally, a stained deck is a more beautiful finish than a painting deck. Although having a painting deck does have its benefits.
A painted deck is better to be repainted
Is your deck currently painted? If you have a painted deck and you want to have a stain-look on it? It can be done but is more challenging. It takes a lot of prep work to strip, scrape, and sand-down a painted deck to bare wood. So switching from a painted deck to a stain finish deck you need to factor in the amount of labor, time, and money that is going to require to switch from a painted finish to stained finish. For this reason a previously painted deck is recommended to be repainted again. It would be more cost effective and most importantly a painted deck provides longer and better protection than a deck-stain product. But if money and time is not an issue you can always have a professional deck painter near you do the work. Just remember that's going to cost more than all the other deck refinishing applications. Also something to keep in mind is that a stained deck requires more frequent maintenance than a painted deck.
My deck is currently stained, should I stain again or painted?
Not sure what to do for a wooden deck that is currently stained and is time to refinish the old deck. Well on this case is more or less the same in terms of money and time to go with either a stain finish again or to switch from a stain finish to a painted one. To prep a currently stained deck for an application of new stain finish, it involves a lot of prep work but not as much as prepping a painted deck down to bare wood. So for this situation you need to ask yourself what's more important to you. Having a beautiful stained deck or having a painted deck that's well protected. Neither one is wrong, it just depends on what you value more: beauty or durability.
If you need more information on different deck products and deck applications and you live in the Santa Barbara and Ventura area please contact us and we can help you on your deck staining or deck painting work.
