Treated lumber how long before staining

As a builder I agree with some of the above comments that the timber can take a considerable time to dry out. However, a few weeks of good weather should get it dry enough to take a finish, but I'd use a moisture metre and check the finish products specs to be sure.

I've just waited 6 weeks for some balustrade tops and I'll chance a coat tomorrow weather permitting. A one month minimum dry time is recommended.

That said, I'd wait as long as the painting season permits. If you have three months before it will get cold down there, then wait until then. It's important to have three good, consecutive dry days before applying the stain when ultimately decide to do it. And two-coat everything with a quality stain. Ask the paint store person about doing it and which product to use. Some stains are meant for walls and some for walking on.

Pt lumber is pressure treated, meaning the use psi to make sure the chemical stays in the wood, most stains and paint won't stick until the pores of the wood come open which can take years. You can always test it by see if the water beads up or soaks in. I'm in Arkansas. My deck and front porch were built in March.

They both get good sun. I'm waiting until August to do mine. Plenty of good hot sun to dry them out. The pine lumber came from Lowe's.

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How long should I wait before painting or staining pressure-treated wood? Ask Question. Asked 8 years, 5 months ago. Active 5 years, 5 months ago. Viewed k times. My husband is installing a new deck with pressure-treated lumber at our home in Tennessee.

When choosing a stain for the wood, it can be good to keep a couple of things in mind. If you do not have much experience in staining wood or simply are not confident in a darker color, start with a transparent stain.

Starting your staining process with a lighter stain means that any mistakes or second guessing can easily be covered up by another application of a darker stain. Another thing to keep in mind is the amount of sun that the wood will regularly get. If it will be exposed to the sun most of the time, consider a lighter color that will reflect the sun and its heat rather than a dark color that will absorb it.

If you stain with a lighter color, the heat will also be reflected. If you stain darker, the wood will absorb the heat. After making sure that the surface of the wood is clean, the first thing you want to do is read the can of stain that you have selected.

Regardless of quality, color, or type, stains can differ from each other in a variety of ways that slightly change the staining process. Before you put on that first coat of stain, make sure you have read the directions and you know what is going to be expected at each stage.

As for actually staining, select your tool of choice. People have used paint rollers or garden sprayers for a quick and efficient application. No matter what you choose, make sure to always have a paint brush nearby. The small nooks and crannies that a project can hide will make it hard to reach with larger tools.

With a paint brush, you can pay special attention to each unique area that your wood has. A small tip before starting is to choose your exit route. Mark where you will be able to quickly exit the working area after staining and work towards that area.

In doing this, you will not be walking over your hard work while its curing. After the stain has been applied, you simply have to wait for it to cure. Keep traffic on the wood to an absolute minimum and avoid putting furniture on it until it is completely dry. Pressure-treated wood can turn gray after long exposure to the elements. Similarly, if it gets rained on and allowed to dry over and over without protection that can lead to it drying out and cracking.

The staining process protects against both of these problems by reflecting the UV rays and by serving as a barrier to the rain.

Once the wood has been exposed to the elements to the point where it cracks and discolors, there is only a couple of things you can do. With the damage that the wood has sustained, a transparent stain is not going to come out perfectly. The discoloration and gray color will still show through and will not solve your problem. I would test a small section in an inconspicuous area in case the wood is still wet. Most people confuse stain with a wood sealer.

Most newer products provide a stain and sealer in one product. You can buy each separately but do realize if you just put stain on your fence without a top coat sealer it will fade and not protect the wood from the elements. There are quite a few good products out there and that will be a separate article. Hey there and thanks for coming to our site. We love doing projects in our backyard. We do many of the projects ourselves and it's always a work in progress.

My treated deck boards have been installed a year now. What should I use as a top coat over the stain or is there a stain sealer out there that does both? I would use a stain and sealer all in one product. Depending on if you want a solid stain and sealer little to no wood grain showing or a semi-transparent stain and sealer wood grain showing through.

Consumer reports rated these two products highly.