Protecting a Wood Porch from Sun Damage

Simply sealing a wood porch won't do the trick. Learn what to apply to keep wood from being ravaged by UV rays.

LESLIE: Steven in Arkansas, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

STEVEN: I’ve got this porch and it’s got really, really old wood. I guess it’s about 15, 20 years old. Anyway, I cut it up to make a long, shorter porch and I winter-protected it about two years ago with Thompson’s WaterSeal which – it did a job. It just turned pretty looking wood into ugly wood. And I water-treated it. Now I’ve got my wood back and I want to treat it again but I don’t want it to go ugly on me.

TOM: You don’t want it to go ugly on you, huh?

STEVEN: Right. Yeah.

TOM: Well, what kind of wood is the floor, Steven?

STEVEN: I’m pretty sure it’s pine.

TOM: Pine. OK. So, what I would recommend you do is apply a solid stain to that porch floor. Because a solid-color stain is going to have enough pigment in it where you’ll see the grain come through it but it’s not going to wear off and go ugly on you, I should say. Solid-color staining is what we use on decks. It’s also what we use on porch floors. It’s not like paint; it’s stain. But it’s going to show that grain.

STEVEN: OK. Do I need to water-seal it after that?

TOM: You do not. It’s all built in. Alright? So look for solid-color wood stain and that’ll do it.

STEVEN: Oh, man, I appreciate that. Because I was dreading it, you know? We’ve got nice, good-textured wood and I just remember what happened last time. Man, I just don’t want to do that again.

TOM: Yeah, it’s a lot of work just to use the sealer and stop right there. Because what happens is the UV-radiation from the sun gets to the porch, it breaks down the wood fibers and it starts to gray out on you. So, if you use a solid-color stain – and you can go right on top of what’s there now; just make sure it’s clean – you’ll be good to go.

STEVEN: Yeah. We just got through pressure-washing it and that’s what got all the Thompson’s WaterSeal up.

TOM: Yeah, just make sure it dries thoroughly before you stain it, OK?

STEVEN: Hey, man, I appreciate you and I listen to you all the time. You all are great.

TOM: Alright. Thank you so much. Good luck with that project.