If you’re wondering how often to stain a deck, then this guide will save you the heartache of waiting too long and having no choice but to strip it all off and start again…
This is an example of waiting too long…
So don’t let your deck stain go this far without re-coating it…
With that said, working out how often you need to stain your deck is not an exact science…
There’s so many factors that affect how long your deck stain will last that giving an exact amount of time before you need to stain your deck again would be impossible…
For example…
Is your deck undercover?
Do you live near the ocean?
Do you live on top of a windy hill?
You probably have animals that run on your deck, don’t you?
And the list keeps going…
All of these things will have an impact on how long your deck stain will last and ultimately, when you’d need to stain it again…
You picking up what I’m putting down?
Good…
Now, with all of that said, I do have a general rule for this…
So let me tell you exactly what that is and then I’ll expand on it so you can gauge when your deck is due to have another coat…
A Safe and General Rule for How Often to Stain a Deck…
Here’s how I look at it…
You should stain your deck at least once every 12 months before any fading, peeling or damage occurs to your deck stain…
Once you have any peeling or fading, giving your deck another coat of stain isn’t going to hide it…
It will protect the wood but the deck stain will look ugly and blotchy…
I’ve found that 12 months is usually when a deck stain will start to fade…
So as long as you stain your deck before the fading goes too far, you’ll be fine…
Even reputable deck stain manufacturers recommend staining a deck as often as every 12 months…
Of course they say to stain every 12 months because they want you to buy more deck stain right?
Well, I’ve seen the damage that occurs to stain after 12 months so I tend to agree with their recommendation…
Anyway, that’s my general rule for re-staining your deck but it’s very general and it’s not a flawless system so here’s what I suggest you do so you know exactly when you should stain your deck again…
The 2 Tests to See if Your Deck is Due to be Stained Again…
These 2 tests are very simple but don’t think for one moment that they aren’t important…
They’re simple but very effective…
Let’s just dive straight into them…
The first test is called…
The Looky Looky Test…
What you want to do is, look at your deck every 3 months and see if it’s starting to look lighter in some sections or if you’re noticing some blotchy patches showing through…
The moment you see your deck stain starting to weather or look worn, that’s your sign that you need to stain your deck…
That’s the Looky Looky test…
You look at your stain…
Does it look lighter than before?
Is it starting to look a little blotchy?
Look, you will possibly need to stain your deck as often as every 6 months to every 3 years…
It all depends on how much abuse it has to cope with from the sun, rain, your kids and pets…
I promise to not use the word “look” anymore in this post, ok?
Now let’s look at the second test…
Whoops, my bad…
The Thirsty Decking Test…
The thirsty decking test is when you think some sections of deck stain might be getting a little lighter than it was before but you’re not quite sure…
One way to tell if your deck stain is in fact, starting to break down, is to apply the Thirsty Decking Test…
Here’s what you need to do…
- Get yourself a small container filled with water…
- Select 6 to 12 sections to test, depending on the size of your deck…
- Kneel down and splash some water on your deck…
- Notice if it beads on the surface or soaks into the deck..
That’s the whole test from woah to go…
Here’s what your results mean…
If the water you splash on the deck beads up, then it means that the deck stain is still in good condition and doesn’t need to be re-stained…
But…
If the water soaks into the deck then you know that you need to stain your deck again…
Make sense?
Good..
Because that’s really the best way to tell if your deck needs re-staining…
Any time frame I give you is just a guess…
Staining every 12 months is a safe time frame but as you can imagine from the tests above…
You could possibly need to stain your deck more often or less often than 12 months…
With that in mind…
How often should you stain a deck that is exposed to the weather?
I’ve seen decks that are exposed to the weather that have deck stain that only lasted 3 months…
This one deck in particular was on a hill overlooking the ocean with full exposure to the weather…
Man it was such a beautiful view but the deck copped a battering…
The deck was being pounded by the sun and rain plus the wind blowing sand from the ocean…
This all led to the deck stain needing to be redone after only 3 months…
So it really depends on what it’s exposed to on a daily basis…
And it also depends on the number of coats that were originally applied…
I’ve found that 2 coats will get you 6 to 12 months before you need to stain it again..
Whereas, 3 coats will get you 12 months to 2 years before you see any signs of needing to apply another coat…
But it really does depend on those 2 tests I outlined above…
So if you do test your deck stain and you think it needs to be re-done, what should you do?
If you’ve decided that you need to stain your deck again, this is what you should do…
- Scrub your deck with a deck brightener…
- Pressure wash your deck…
- Allow it to dry…
- Apply 1 coat of stain…
It really is that simple…
But I know that you really want to make sure you’re doing it right…
Don’t you??
You probably have so many questions like…
What is a deck brightener?
Or which deck brightener should I use??
You may even want to know the best technique to apply the deck stain…
How about pressure washing your deck??
Have you ever done that before???
Well, lucky for you, I’ve already put together a couple of guides that will answer all of your questions…
The first guide is all about applying stain to your deck…
You can get your grubby little hands on it by clicking the blue link…
This guide will show you everything you could possibly want to know about staining your deck…
It’ll show you all the best stains to use…
All the best deck brighteners…
And even the best tools to get you that expert finish…
Ok, the second guide I’ve got for you is Pressure Washing a Deck Before Staining…
Again, simply click the blue link and I’ll magically transport you to a wonderful place where I share all of my secrets to pressure washing a deck…
You’re so spoiled…
It took me years to discover all of these deck staining secrets…
And now you can get them all in a matter of minutes by reading my guides…
So I suggest you go there now, learn all the expert tactics and then get to staining your deck…
Well that’s about all I have to say on the matter…
I hope you’ve enjoyed our little adventure today…
If you have any questions about any of this, then leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to get back to you…
I’m out…
Peace,
Jason
Need some Expert Advice?
If you’ve been searching the internet trying to find an answer to a specific deck problem and you’ve found it impossible to get a straight answer…
Why not just reach out and ask me directly for an answer?
I’ve got 10 years of deck knowledge crammed into my noggin. I can pretty much guarantee I’ve got an answer to your problem just rattling around in there…
Come on, don’t be shy…
FAQ’s
If you were to stain a deck every months then yes, you could stain a deck too often. It’s best to monitor the condition of your deck and if you notice any fading or wear and tear, then you should stain it again. I wouldn’t stain a deck unless it was showing minor signs of fading…
It is definitely ok to stain a deck every year. You should just make sure you clean it properly beforehand and then stain it with the same product that is currently on your deck…
A deck can usually go close to 12 months without staining. With that said, it can show signs of fading as soon as 6 months, in which case, you should clean and stain again at 6 months…
A deck should be stained and sealed at least every 12 months or once a year. It really does depend on how much exposure it has to the weather and foot traffic throughout the year…
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