Archadeck: Decks & Screened Porches in Atlanta

When Should I Stain My New Deck?

Donnie — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:57:31 +0000

Most pine decks need to be stained right away. You need to repeat this treatment at least once per year. If you do this religiously you will have a nice looking deck for many years assuming the deck was properly built.

When a pine deck dries it shrinks. When it gets wet it swells, but normally only the surface gets wet from a rain shower. So now the surfaces expands, but the center of the board does not. This nonuniform expansion and contraction is what makes the boards crack, splitter and warp. Keeping the board sealed helps prevent the damage.

Some pine decking boards are impregnated with paraffin wax at the same time the preservatives are added. This wax goes to the heart of the board and prevents moisture penetration. In effect pre-sealing the board. However, the weather removes the wax from the surface of the board overtime. With this board you need to wait a few months before you stain the deck since the wax will prevent penetration of the stain. After a few(typically 3-6) months the top thin layer of the wax will burn off and a stain needs to be applied to reseal the surface. This needs to be repeated about every 3 to 5 years.

One draw back to the paraffin wax is excessive shrinkage which can leave gaps between the boards that are larger than you need for good drainage. It can also cause cupping. The only way to insure this doesn’t happen is to dry the boards before you install them. The only practical way to do this is to buy boards that have been dried by the treater. This is called “kiln dried after treatment” or KDAT. These boards are more expensive and not available in all areas, but in my 18 years of building decks I have never used a finer pine decking board. They are well worth the extra cost.

Top Five Reasons To Build A Screened Porch

Donnie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:22:20 +0000

We built a screened porch on the back of our house about 10 years ago. Once finished my wife and I couldn’t figure out why we had waited so long. Setting on the porch and enjoying a cool drink or a meal is such a delight. Hard to select the top 5 reasons we enjoy it so much but here goes:

1) No flying insects-Need I say more

2) Shade-Turn on the ceiling fan and even the hottest days are comfortable

3) The wild life ignores you-we enjoy the birds on the feeders and even the antics of the squirels

4) Sounds of the night-something special about the tree frogs and other sounds when you’re relaxing in a comfortable chair

5) Pets love them especially indoor pets. Our cat was traumatized by a large dog and will not venture outside anymore, but she will spend hours watching nature from the safety of “Her” screened porch

I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

South Atlanta Ga Deck Builder

Donnie — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 16:39:23 +0000

Hi, my name is Donnie Miller and I am the owner of Archadeck of South Atlanta. I have been building custom designed decks, screened porches. pergolas and similar structures in Atlanta since 1992. I serve the entire Metro Atlanta area, but most of my work has been in or near Newnan, Peachtree City, Douglasville, Fayetteville, Jonesboro, McDonough, Stockbridge, Conyers and Loganville. This is my first blog and in the future I plan to write about a variety of topics relating to design, construction and care of these projects. If you have a subject you would like me to address I would love to hear from you. In the meantime you can check me out at www.archadeck-southatlanta.com