After a year our new wooden deck quickly faded from an amber yellow to the light gray of weathered drift wood. Because we were always so busy, we never properly weatherproofed it and let the original treatment suffice.
The deck was gray except some black spots from stains where the grease trap in the grill spilled onto the deck and natural brown where we had patio furniture standing which protected the boards from the Sun and rain.
Finally, I had put it off long enough. The teenage neighbor was asking if he could help with chores around the house in an effort to save up for a cell phone. After coming up with a few ideas, I finally purchased the supplies to stain the deck. Of course scheduling a paint or stain job this time of year is tricky since it is officially hurricane season and it rains practically on a daily basis. Fortunately, our neighbor was on summer vacation and had a flexible schedule. This would end up being his first time doing this kind of work. There were lessons learned but nothing we couldn't overcome.
We used several gallons of Cabot oil based stain in Honey Teak. Looking back, we should have thinned the oil as it was being put down in order to make it last longer and cover the whole deck with what I purchased for the job. It was something I should have discussed with the neighbor. I ended up having to buy extra to finish the job. Lesson learned.
I decided on rolling it out instead of hand brushing. This led to a bit of uneven distribution of stain but the main purpose was to protect the wood, which it did. Next time, we'll dilute the stain like I mentioned before and that will help. The roller was very thick, which was on purpose for the coarse wood. The thick mat of the roller soaked up a lot of stain which would have come in handy at the end.
The deck was done in sections. The gap between the boards was hand painted to get inside the space between. Because it was soooo hot, the oil was drying fast and if the space between was done first and then the rest was done with the roller, the part that was exposed and drying for a time would have become tacky when the fresh stain was rolled on. This could have caused problems with the texture. Because of that, the deck was stained in sections.
At the end, we only needed an extra quart to finish the sides, the ramp, and a patch that was laid on too thin when we tried to make the final drops last.
The stain had a full day to dry without rain which is a miracle a typical Florida August. The next rain puddled up on top of the deck which meant the stain was doing its job. Hours later, it remained puddled while the untreated ramp had soaked up all of the water. Of course, this is why I should have done this sooner. I'm just glad that I'm finally able to get around to keeping up with the house again after taking time off since Ethan has kept us so busy.
