Decks wear from the top down
A deck takes sun, rain, foot traffic, furniture and grills, all on horizontal surfaces where water sits. Stain on a deck wears faster than paint on a wall, and how it's been maintained decides most of what a re-stain costs. A deck re-coated before the old stain fails is a cleaning-and-coat job. One left until the boards are grey and splintered is a restoration.
This guide covers a re-stain on a Rocky Mount, North Carolina deck. It quotes no prices and names no companies.
The airport station's temperatures
NOAA keeps two weather stations of Rocky Mount's own, and the temperature figures here come from the airport station, USW00093759 "ROCKY MT WILSON AP" at Rocky Mount–Wilson Regional Airport. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for it put July's normal high at 90.5 and its normal low at 69.0, January's normal high at 51.8 degrees and its normal low at 30.8, with an average of 53.5 days reaching 90 degrees or above and 69.1 nights at or below freezing in a normal year. The airport station began reporting in 2000, so NOAA computed these temperature normals from 17 years of record inside 1991–2020.
For a deck, the hot days matter at application: stain applied to boards in direct afternoon sun can flash dry and lap. The freezing nights matter to the wood itself, since water in cracks and end grain freezes and opens them further.
Size and railings
Deck surface is quick to coat with a pad or roller. Railings, balusters, stairs and the edges of boards are slow handwork. A small deck with an elaborate railing can cost more to stain than a big plain platform. Ask how the painter measures: by floor area, railing length or both.
Cleaning or stripping
Cleaning with a deck cleaner removes dirt, mildew and grey fibers before a new coat of a similar stain.
Stripping removes the old stain when it's peeling or when you're changing products, especially from a solid stain back to a semi-transparent one. Stripping is slower and costs more.
Either way, the deck has to dry fully before stain goes on. Ask how long the painter waits and how they check.
Sanding and repairs
Raised grain, splinters and fuzzy fibers after cleaning need sanding. Loose boards, popped nails and cracked or soft boards should be fixed or replaced first. Ask whether board replacement is priced in or extra, and who does it.
Stain type and coats
- Transparent and semi-transparent stains soak in, show the grain, wear gradually and are easier to recoat.
- Solid stains hide the grain and look more like paint; they can peel on a walking surface and then need stripping.
- Number of coats depends on the product and the wood's thirst.
The deck and fence staining page explains the choice.
Painted rails on an older house
If railings or trim on an older house were painted rather than stained, the paint may be old. The EPA rule on the card below covers paid work that disturbs paint in homes built before 1978. Ask whether the painter's firm holds RRP certification if scraping is planned.
Deck bids compared
Set the bids against each other on area and railing, cleaning or stripping, sanding, repairs, product by name and coats. The pricing guide explains more.