I am having a 1400 sq foot pine deck installed over a dry creek and do not know which is a smarter choice.





Stain?
Paint?
Or this "deck over" which sounds like paint...

https://www.behr.com/consumer/products/wood-stains-finishes-cleaners-and-strippers/advanced-deckover


Any comments are appreciated.

* Boards near me were placed there so the pup could walk across, not screwed in yet.

Painted decks look like crap.

Thanks, but it is pine not cedar.

That is going to look pretty good when it’s done. Maybe paint it to match the grey of your garage.

About 7 years ago I asked the same question, the answer was Olympic Maximum. You can find it at Lowes. I recommend the lighter stain colors, the dark ones act as a heat sink and get hotter than hell.

Behr Deckover. Mines been painted for 4 years now and still looks great. I wish I'd done it to my deck at the coast.

I’d stain it, because I love to see the wood grain, even if it is pine. I don’t generally care for painted wood. I wouldn’t even care if it was the better option or what anyone else thought about it.

I wouldn't do pine.............
But, that's just me................

Thanks for the clarification even though I knew it was pine when I answered. Don’t change anything for me.

Your reply kinda makes me wonder why you’re even asking. If you thinking only cedar should be stained, then paint It.

My opinion as well

let it weather for about 3-4 months. You will have to replace about 5-10% of the deckboards due to excessive checking and warping but thats normal. Fresh treated pine doesent take a stain very well...need to let it weather.

I would, at least for the first couple go'rounds, use a semi-transparent stain. Olympic Maximum is a good one, I always used Sikkens TRD stain. I've heard it has taken a dive though since they got bought by PPG. Stained Pressure treated pine looks good. Avoid any Behr product. Use Olympic, CWF Flood, Sikkens or Cabot.


Pressure wash and let it dry, then give it a good sand with 60 grit orbital sander. spray stain on then wipe it out with a deck pad. Will look nice.



Before I got into real estate I owned a paint & stain company and did thousands of decks and fences. A product like deck-over is great for a boat dock but I wouldn't want it on my personal deck. You can pressure wash off and re-stain the treated wood several times over. After that a solid color stain ( looks like a paint) will restore a old and tired deck, but it will look painted, which in some applications is fine ( if a house has painted siding for instance ) .


Let me know if you have any specific questions

That’s going to be a great deck

We all know you just wanted to show off pictures lol

That's a big deck. I'd paint it a darker color so you can say "look at my big dark deck". Make sure you use fine grit though, don't want the ladies (or men, not judging) getting a splinter

Out on stain, Seal it with a non trasparent color.

Let it dry Is right though. 2 months should be fine.

I've had good luck treating raw pine with diluted sealer BEFORE staining. It comes out really well and is worlds better than simply brushing stain on pine boards and hoping for the best. I'd test a couple of boards the way this article suggests and see what you think.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/proj...without-getting-blotches-and-dark-spots/

FWIW, my folks had a dark brown painted deck growing up. It looked good with fresh paint and matched the paint on the house. It did get really hot, and I got to repaint it every two years when it started looking rough.

Haha no kidding. Super duty, king of the humble brag.

Multiple coats of Thompson’s Water Seal on frame before decking it. Then water seal the heck out of the decking every couple of years will keep it looking good.

A lot of good advice here, especially the solid color stain bit.

That will look nice when done

Wonder how long it will last before mother nature starts wearing away on it?

Stain, don't paint.

Wish you would've talked to me before you started that project.

I would have used Trex..

Just found the link I couldn't find last night