When building a new home many home owners face making the decision between adding or building a maintenance free deck VS a pressure treated deck.
Although it does cost a bit more to go the maintenance free route I believe the appearance and convenience outweighs the additional cost. Especially when you consider the expense & time it takes to stain a pressure treated deck every couple of years.
Recently, I started the reoccurring task to Stain my rather large Pressure Treaded Deck (12’ X 34’ that ties into a 6’ X 30’) which includes 84’ of Pressure Treated Railing. I started by removing all of the patio furniture, gas grill, plants & etc… The next step was to treat/spray the deck & railing with a deck wash then pressure wash it.
I allowed the deck to dry for two days. Once it was dry it was time to start staining. As the floor of my deck was a bit weathered and cracked I purchased a product called Rescue It by Olympic. This is a textured solid exterior stain which recommends 2 coats so after allowing the 1st coat to dry for 24 hours I applied a 2nd coat.
Once this was dry I started staining the railing using a 3” roller and then touching up with a 2” brush this was a slow process with all the nooks & crannies that required touch up.
Once completed I tallied up the my receipts for the stain and materials which totaled $342.00 also I kept track of the man hours and we had invested right at 50 hours. So, when you put a value to your time with actual expense it does not take long to offset the additional cost for a maintenance free deck.