Preserve and Protect a Wood Deck

Learn what to use to preserve and protect the finish of a wood deck. Find out how your local home center can give you advise on how to preserve the color and finish of your deck.

LESLIE: Now we’re going to take a call from Sally in Nebraska who wants to finish and protect her very gorgeous redwood deck. I am sure.

Sally, how are you?

SALLY: Fine.

LESLIE: So tell us, what’s going on with your deck?

SALLY: We’ve had it about ten years and we’ve never put anything on it. And it just seems like it needs some protection, like some oil or maybe some stain or something.

LESLIE: So are you not happy with the color that it’s become or …?

SALLY: No, I just want to save it so it wouldn’t deteriorate.

LESLIE: So you like the color where it’s at now.

SALLY: Yeah, it’s fine.

TOM: You know, very often a wood deck, even if it’s a pressure-treated deck that’s not going to rot, what happens is the UV radiation of the sun gets to it, the wood expands and contracts and cracks and checks. And by putting a preserving finish on that, you’re going to slow some of that down; you’ll have less splinters and things of that nature. So it is a good idea to preserve and protect your deck.

LESLIE: Behr, which is a product available at Home Depots, they make a lot of waterproofing deck stains and they come in clear and they come in color tones. So if you like the color that your deck has become, you would want to go with something clear to show the color that it’s become. If you’re unhappy with it and you want to get it back to the red tone of your redwood or really get it to a different color, it can be tinted; it comes in available colors. And it’s going to seal. It’s going to give you the finish that you desire. It’s easy to apply. It offers UV protection and it also contains a mildicide which will really help with the future wear and tear of your deck. And there are so many options available, depending on what your needs are if you want to change the color or not. So that’s a good place to start and they’re really easy to do.

SALLY: You know, I didn’t even think of Home Depot. I know they advertise all the time that they help you with things like that but I just – we’re new with our Home Depot here.

LESLIE: Well, you should go check it out. They’re very helpful.

SALLY: I sure will.

TOM: Sally, thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.