Tips On Deck Sealing For St. Louis Homeowners

As the weather changes from season to season and from day to day in St. Louis, a wooden deck can quickly develop warping, splitting, and rotting problems. To help prevent these issues, professionals like ours in St. Louis, at Under Pressure offer deck sealing services to seal and waterproof decks for protection.

A beautiful wooden deck will need some maintenance from time to time:

• Two of the most important ways to maintain and preserve it are cleaning and deck sealing.
• Cleaning off the deck removes debris and grime that causes wood rotting, and it should always be done before staining or sealing.
• The final step of deck sealing protects the wood from moisture and sunlight exposure.
• Since the protective seal coatings will eventually wear out, you'll need to know how to take care of your deck to make it last for as long as possible.

How Often Deck Sealing Needs to be Done

Our St. Louis power washings pros are often asked how often a deck should be stained and sealed. To answer that, first consider that the deck is a horizontal surface, so it will need to be resealed more often throughout its lifetime than a wooden fence would.

Also, staining and sealing aren't always necessarily done at the same time. Wood stain lasts much longer if the sealant is maintained. If you don't reseal the deck, the stain will be exposed and therefore not last as long. In most cases, just the sealant will need to be reapplied regularly.

Sometimes a homeowner wants a new deck stain color. By all means, change it if you want to. How often to seal and stain the deck is also dependent on the quality of the product used. The amount of pigment in the stain will also make a difference in how long the finish lasts.

• Clear deck sealers last about a year.
• With pigment, the finish lasts about 2 years.
• Semi-solid stains last 3 to four years.
• Solid stains can last up to 5 years.
• Sealants should be reapplied every year to protect from moisture and UV rays.

Getting The Surface Prepared Before Deck Sealing

Before starting any type of deck sealing or sealcoating in St. Louis, the deck must be cleaned thoroughly. It's important that it's a deep down clean, which is why it's best to get a professional deck cleaning service first rather than use your simple garden hose. This prepares the surface so that the sealer can adhere to the wood surface better.

The wooden deck should be thoroughly dry before resealing it. Otherwise, the sealant products will not adhere evenly and the surface can look very blotchy. With proper preparation, your newly sealed deck will look perfect and the results will last.