If you have a deck – now is the best time to stain it....

Hopefully, you never got around to staining your deck this past spring or summer...

That’s because now is actually the best time. Ideally, you’d like the surface of your deck to be somewhere between 50 and 80 degrees – and dry. Deck wood typically takes a lot longer to thoroughly dry out in the spring. Staining in the summer months, when it’s hot, causes the stain to start to evaporate and blister before it has thoroughly penetrated the wood. 

If the surface of your deck feels warm to the touch, wait for a cooler day. Fall months also expose your deck to fewer hours of direct sunlight, which you want to avoid while staining. Just check the forecast for fall staining – you don’t want your drying night to be too cold. If you’d rather not repeat the staining process every year, opt for a semi-transparent – they last for 2 years. Solid stains will give you 3 years or more, clear stains, just one year.