DIY sealing vs. Sealmaxx, etc.

[judgelog 14]

Great forum! The question I have is that we have just completed building a cedar pergola and garden house and we want them to last. We are not sure if we should do the sealing ourselves, or use one of the services.

To complicate things, on the pergola, we are going to have wysteria vines climb over the top of the pergola, so it will make sealing every year difficult unless we cut back the wysteria before we seal.

Any advice please. Thanks

[PressurePros 248]

judge, welcome to the forum.

You mentioned SealMaxx in your title so I will address that first. SealMaxx is a permanent solution. While that may seem appealing there are issues with which you should be aware. Sealmaxx is basically a petrification process. It will not provide UV protection. This means sunlight will cause visible aging (graying). Once this happens, you are stuck with the gray. Sealmaxx, as far as I am aware, cannot be released from the wood. Recourse if you are not happy with the grayed, aged appearance would be to rebuild. concerns me as it should anyone researching these types of products.

You can certainly tackle this type of project yourself. Again, an "open eyes" stance is advised. Cleaning and staining wood, especially pergolas, is labor intensive. If you use a high quality, oil based, semi transparent and penetrating stain/sealer you will get the most bang for your buck. Maintenance will be simple cleaning and recoat every 3-4 years on vertical surfaces.

An important process for the finish longevity is in the preparation of the wood. Most wood professionals use a two-step process. The first step removes mold spores and contaminants from the wood. The second step places the wood into proper pH balance as well as neutralizes extractive bleeding. In doing a proper wood prep you set yourself up for easy and sustainable long term maintenance.

Hope this helps to get you started. Feel free to ask more detailed questions or visit the contractor directory on this forum to find a qualified pro in your area to perform the work for you.

[judgelog 14]

Ken, thanks for the help. I was nervous about the Sealmaxx and other types of sealers and that confirms it. My only other question was if the wisteria vines we have would die from a sealer, assuming we did the sealing when the vines were dormant and tried to cover them as much as possible. thanks again

[PressurePros 248]

Depending upon what you use to clean and to seal them there is a chance of harming the vines especially if they are not mature. Use a sodium percarbonate based cleaner and go light on the second (acidic) stage of cleaning. For the sealing process, I usually would never recommend a water born product but in this case my concern would be the VOC's in an oil based stain harming the growth. I think the key to success is going to be to manually apply your stain product via brush using as much caution as you can.