One-Year-Old Deck Gets Its First Stain in Oshawa
A large multi-level pressure-treated deck in Oshawa, about a year old and starting to fade and grey, prepped and stained for the first time: upper landing, wide stairs, skirting and the lower platform under the gazebo, all in a brown semi-transparent stain.
The deck: one year old and never stained
This multi-level deck in Oshawa was built about a year earlier: an upper landing off the patio door with black metal balusters, wide stairs down to a large lower platform, a gazebo on the lower level and skirting around the open edges. New pressure-treated lumber needs time to dry before it will take stain, so the deck had been left bare for its first season. By the time we saw it, the sun had already faded the boards to a pale, uneven colour and the first grey was creeping in. This is exactly the right moment to stain a new deck: dry enough to absorb, before weathering does real damage.
Prepping new pressure-treated wood
New pressure-treated decking has a mill glaze and a year of dirt and UV on the surface. We cleaned and prepped the boards so the stain would soak in evenly instead of sitting on top, working across both levels, the stairs, the skirting and around the gazebo posts. Proper prep on a first stain is what makes the colour even on day one and makes every future maintenance coat easy. It is the same process we use on every deck staining job.
Brown semi-transparent stain
The deck was finished in a brown semi-transparent penetrating stain. On new pressure-treated wood a semi-transparent stain gives the boards a warm, consistent colour while still showing the grain, and because it soaks in rather than forming a film it will not peel. The after photo shows the upper landing, stairs, skirting and lower platform all in one even tone under the gazebo, with the grey gone.
The result
A one-year-old deck that now looks finished, protected from UV and moisture before the weathering set in. Staining at this stage keeps the boards from greying and checking, and it means the owners will only ever need maintenance coats, never a full restoration.
New deck staining in Oshawa and Durham Region
UCO Construction Group stains new decks and restores older ones across Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, Pickering, Courtice and the rest of the GTA. If your deck is a year old and still bare, now is the time to stain it: see our deck staining service and get in touch for a free on-site estimate.
