Aaron Sullivan 14 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 how long should i wait to seal a newly built ptp deck? i am using ready seal. i have been told that i could do it almost immediatly, but that it would need a maintenance coat the following year since the moisture level would be a bit higher. any opinions? thanks, aaron sullivan alpine window cleaning & pressure washing nashville, tn Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Jarrod 22 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 Wait for about 2 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Aaron Sullivan 14 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 Wait for about 2 years. seriously? i have heard of 6 months to a year, but dang! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 JFife 14 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 What's up Aaron? Hope all is well in Nashville-- ...What is the current moisture level? I'd give it maybe one or two months, bleach wash/neutr. and stain. Probably need a light coat after first year. If they wait until yr. two, then you have to do a detail wash, which would take significantly longer (cost more). Option: 1: Rinse now and stain, then rinse next year and stain. Option 2: Wait yr, detail wash and stain. Sell them on option 1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Aaron Sullivan 14 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 What's up Aaron? Hope all is well in Nashville--...What is the current moisture level? I'd give it maybe one or two months, bleach wash/neutr. and stain. Probably need a light coat after first year. If they wait until yr. two, then you have to do a detail wash, which would take significantly longer (cost more). Option: 1: Rinse now and stain, then rinse next year and stain. Option 2: Wait yr, detail wash and stain. Sell them on option 1. all is well here, mr. fife. this guy is one of those customers who doesn't even ask me how much. he just says to go do it. for that, i am lucky and i have him sold on redoing it next year. i just cleaned and sealed it last summer and he has since torn it down and rebuilt a larger deck! i just thought i remembered pierce saying i could do it almost immediatly upon construction but that i would need to do it again the following year. i wanted to get everyones opinion here as well. thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 PressurePros 248 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 I wouldn't wait any more than two weeks. I would clean and and ph balance now and in two weeks throw on sealer. Get your moisture meter on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Deck Guy 14 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 What Ken said...moisture meter!!! I would think three weeks. IMHO, anything under 15% moisture, you're okay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Jarrod 22 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 From my experience, if you seal ptp too early, it will look very uneaven. Reason being, each board has a different amount of "treatment" in it and will wear out of the wood at different rates beacuse of sun exposure and shade exposure etc. IMHO, wait until the "green" haze goes away. I would love to seal my ptp deck that was built last fall, but it is still quite green in a lot of areas. IMHO, if it is still green that means that the wood is still full of the "treatment" and will not accept stain, the parts that are not green will - hence the uneaven look. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Jarrod 22 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 BTW Larry, you live where one of my heros is from. Can you guess who he is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 plainpainter 217 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 I can see waiting on pressure treated - although the new pressure treated doesn't look as green as it use to. After two years it would probably have an even greyed weathered look, that a little tsp and bleach would take right off. I had a customer wait like 6 years, and the wood was so dry that it swallowed the stain right up - but it also didn't seem to work as well either. Only by waiting another 2 years - and then stripping and neutralizing and reapplying stain - did it seem to come out ok. -Dan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Littlefield 65 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 If you seal it right away, even if the moisture content is a bit high, you will be fine. With Readyseal, yeah, it might be a bit uneven, make sure to explain that up front. On the other hand, it will still dry out, as the penetrating stains are vapor permeable, and will allow the moisture present to gas out while wood is protected. I wonder, any evidence that slower, more even drying might allow the wood to cure out with less cracking? Anyway, like Jon said, then go back the next year and restain and you're good to go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 James 624 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 The new Pt is harder to get RS in than the old stuff?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 PressurePros 248 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 In this case, oxalic acid is your friend. It will remove some of the natural oils and sugars and allow the wood to absorb more sealer as well as it dry it out quicker. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 RPetry 564 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 Diamond Jim, The new Pt is harder to get RS in than the old stuff?? Not in my limited experience in this area. The new ACQ PT wood takes RS very well, a lot maybe a bit more than the old CCA. Also, not as much "green" tinit to the wood. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 JFife 14 Report post Posted June 8, 2006 ...Diamond Jim is just badmouthing RS so that he can push customers to WoodTux:) Film-Formers-Forever!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
0 Palmetto Home and Deck 167 Report post Posted June 9, 2006 Both Rich and Ken are right. We build a lot of new decks and even more we do a lot of deck retoration. Often when we go out to seal an older deck and we will replace a board here and there. This leaves you with an interesting problem of having new boards next to old. The problem is not so much the treatment in new wood, but a mill glaze. First wood is saw cut to its nominal size (a 2x4 or 2x6 is actually 2"x4" or 2"x6" for example) then it is run through a planer that trims that 1/2" off smoothing out the surfaces. This planer creates a lot of heat and actually melts the sugars and oils near the surface. When these sugars an oils cool they form the mill glaze. Try dropping a few drops of water on both new treated and untreated lumber to see if it beads. If it soaks right in you may be good to go as as Rich and Ken said. What we do on new wood is try to remove this mill glaze especially when mixiing in new boards next to old. We will mix a stripper like HD-80 to half strengh or so and apply to the new boards then clean the whole deck as usual. If pressed to seal a new deck we will apply the stripper to the whole deck then wash and neutralize as usual. Like others have said, check the moisture of the wood after it has dried from the cleaning and if you are under 15% you should be good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
how long should i wait to seal a newly built ptp deck? i am using ready seal. i have been told that i could do it almost immediatly, but that it would need a maintenance coat the following year since the moisture level would be a bit higher.
any opinions?
thanks,
aaron sullivan
alpine window cleaning & pressure washing
nashville, tn
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