Should I Paint or Stain My Deck? 

If you have a deck attached to your home, you know what a valuable extension of your living space it can be. During the spring, summer, and even fall, a deck can be a prime area of entertaining and cooking up some scrumptious meals. 

Not only can a deck make your home’s square footage feel more spacious, it can increase the value of your home, and provide an aesthetically pleasing area to host friends and family. 

Having a deck does require regular upkeep and maintenance. If the time has come to care for the surface of your wooden deck, you may be asking yourself if you should paint it or stain it. 

Let’s try to make this decision a little easier by doing a side-by-side comparison on the two options specifically looking at: budget, aesthetics, application, and durability. 

Which is More Budget Friendly?

In terms of what it will cost you to stain a deck versus painting one, hands down the winner will be staining for keeping costs down. 

The reason for this is mostly due to the fact that a gallon of stain goes for about $30. Most wood stains already have a preservative added to it so it doesn’t usually require extra coats of wood preserving. 

Paint on the other hand can cost you up to $60 a gallon, plus the cost of the primer, and a wood preservative to help protect the wood before you even begin the painting process. 

Which is More Aesthetically Pleasing? 

This category is a total toss up as it is completely up to your personal taste. 

If you like the look of natural grain wood showing through, then stain may be your best choice. If you like the idea of hiding the grain or choosing a color that will pop, paint may be your best choice. Paint is often chosen to hide blemishes in the wood. Either way, you decide which look you prefer. 

How Easy Is the Application Process? 

In terms of application, stain is, hands down, the winner again. Paint requires several coats from primer to at least two coats of the main color. 

Stain may go on a little runny but it’s often easy to spread it around so that lap marks do not appear. Paint, however, will go on smoothly but will need to be gone over a few times to ensure that no streaks or lap marks appear. 

How Durable Are Stains & Paints? 

Both stains and paints have unique issues in terms of peeling and discoloration. Paint tends to be more durable and needs less maintenance over time. Most paints will last many years. It will need to be touched up if the paint shows signs of wear and tear due to high traffic. Stain can also experience discoloration due to moisture or UV rays from the sun. 

What choice are you going to make? Talk to our specialists about getting your job done this summer so you can get back to enjoying the space. 

Categorised in: Deck Refurbishing, Decks, Jerry Enos