Caring for your Deck, Porch, or Patio Cover.

Congratulations! You’ve gotten that new addition to your house, and while that fresh wood is going to look awesome for a long while, you’ll eventually be faced with an important decision to make…

Should you stain, paint, or leave it bare?

We here at Carolina Gold, never recommend leaving your exposed wood bare for a length of time. While we use top grade treated wood for all of our projects, it is considered a best practice to provide the extra protection from the elements, insects and wear that a stain, or paint provides.

When to Stain.

We recommend staining when it comes to any horizontal wooden surface such as a deck or porch floor, because of the level of foot traffic it will receive. Staining will withstand more wear before needing to be re-applied.

Overall, staining is a great all in one solution to sealing and protecting your investment from premature wear.

When to Paint.

Painting is a fantastic option for vertical wood surfaces such as deck and porch railings, patio cover, and awning posts and exposed rafters.

Deck floors can be painted with exterior grade paints, but will require more upkeep, in turn, being more costly of an option to maintain. Even the best exterior paints cannot stand up to the foot traffic a floor will receive.

Our Personal Opinion

With the humidity and rain we deal with here in the Carolina’s, we recommend going with a stain for your wood deck or patio. It will just be less work for you in the long run. But we do think painted porches look great for that curb appeal, so no hard feelings if you ignore us!