Five questions worth asking any contractor before you hire them. 1. What product do you use, and why? If the answer is the name of a box-store brand or a vague “the best one,” keep looking. Real contractors know exactly what is in the can and what it is engineered for. 2. Do you brush […]
Read the projectThree reasons usually, in this order: wrong product, wrong application, wrong prep. Wrong product means a film-forming stain sold at a big-box store. It coats the surface instead of penetrating the wood. The first thaw or heat wave breaks the bond and the finish lifts off. Wrong application means spraying without back-brushing. Spraying alone leaves […]
Read the projectTwo questions decide it: what does your wood look like, and what do you want it to look like. Transparent finish shows the grain. The wood character comes through, the color sits on top of it. Transparent is right when you have nice-looking boards you want to highlight, when you want the deck to read […]
Read the projectSpraying is fast. That is the only reason most contractors do it on decks. The trade-off is that sprayed stain sits on top of the wood instead of being worked into the grain. Without a brush stroke breaking the surface tension and pushing product into the fiber, the bond is shallow. Hand-brushing every deck takes […]
Read the projectLate spring through early fall, in dry weather, with a day or two of dry forecast after. That covers most of the Illinois staining season. What matters more than the month is the wood is moisture and the weather window. We test moisture in 15 to 20 spots before staining. Stain applied to wood that […]
Read the projectThree signs, in order of urgency. The color is fading and you do not love it any more. Cosmetic. No structural issue. Schedule a refresh when you are ready, no rush. With a hand-applied finish we usually restain over the existing stain after light prep. Water no longer beads on the boards. Functional. The finish […]
Read the projectOften within a week of installation, sometimes faster, depending on the wood and the weather. The variable is moisture. Freshly milled fence boards are usually wet from kiln-drying or from sitting on a lumber yard rack in the rain. Wood that is too wet will not take stain. The product will pool on the surface, […]
Read the projectA wood fence is a long line of vertical boards sitting in weather. Sun, wind, rain, freeze, thaw, repeat. Without a finish, the wood dries out, cracks, splinters, and rots. An untreated fence in central Illinois loses roughly ten years of useful life compared to a fence that gets stained on a regular cycle. That […]
Read the projectPlan on every three to five years for most fences in central Illinois with a professional-grade stain. The actual interval depends on sun exposure, the side of the property, and the type of finish you chose. South and west exposures see more direct sun and weather faster than north and east. A fence that runs […]
Read the projectConcrete is porous. Water vapor moves through it from the ground below. Without a sealer, that moisture comes up through the slab and into whatever sits on top of it, whether that is flooring, drywall, or stored goods. A sealed basement floor does several things at once. It blocks moisture from migrating up. It makes […]
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