Toronto Specialists in Staining and Painting Decks
Student Contractors throughout Toronto and the Western GTA
Decks and patios are made up of rails, steps, deck floors, lattice, skirt boards, posts, pergolas, trellises, and benches; and have many different shapes and sizes. As your home or business’s outdoor living space, it is important to have them looking good as they are a highly visible and essential part of your home or business.
The climate in Toronto can be very hard to these vulnerable areas, so painting and staining are more important than just making them look good.
The successful staining or painting of decks centers on the selection of the right products for the surface, proper preparation, and regular maintenance.
Our deck staining and painting services start with:
1. Selecting the Right Product For Your Deck:
Stains come in two types: solid and semi-transparent. Solid stain resembles paint and is opaque and semi-transparent shows wood grain. In most cases, it is a matter of personal choice and desired outcomes as to which product suits the job.
Stain comparison: Solid vs Semi-transparent.
Solid Stains:
- Opaque (Shows texture not grain)
- Can be applied over semi-transparent
- Alkyd, acrylic or emulsion base.
- Self Priming
- Life Span 2-5 years before recoating
- easy application similar to paint
Semi-Transparent Stains
- Shows wood grain
- Cannot be applied over a solid stain
- Alkyd or emulsion base
- Alkyd for new wood or a recoat
- Self Priming
- Life span 1-2 years before a recoat
- Requires more expertise in the application.
There are paints available to coat deck surfaces such as polyurethane, floor emulsions, acrylics and alkyds. For the most part, they are only used if the previously existing coating is paint. However, these are the least favoured products because the issue is that when they fail, they peel and require extensive, time-consuming scraping.
2. Preparing the Surfaces for the Stain or Paint:
Proper preparation enhances the look of your deck areas. Washing (power washing and hand washing) Scraping Priming (all stains are self-priming) Sanding Caulking
3. Application of the Product:
Solid stains can be applied by brushing, rolling or spraying.
Semi-transparent needs to be brushed, although there are accepted methods of rolling combined with a brushed finish that is commonly used.
4. Maintenance:
Like the rest of your home, decks are totally exposed to the weather. Decks are a high maintenance item; and, to keep them looking good, you will recoat more often than other exterior surfaces. In Canada, the weather is very tough on all outside surfaces. However, unlike other exterior surfaces of the home, rain and snow sit on them, they are walked on, shovelled off, have heavy items sit and dragged across them, have plants grown on them, and a whole lot more activity in general. The bottom line is that they need a lot of TLC. In order to keep them looking good, they need maintenance.
Our suggested maintenance programs:
- Every 1-2 years, clean and recoat deck floors, steps, and the tops of your rails.
- Every 3-5 years, clean and recoat rails, posts, skirts, and other areas of the deck.
