treated lumber decking, what do I need to use on it to protect it?

[NMDemDist2]

paint isn't my first choice, it would be a nightmare trying to keep it up in this desert windy climate

can you use just linseed oil on treated lumber?

any deck owner's imput is appreciated :hi:

[Warpy]

1. Oil based wood treatments are best

but the desert is pure hell on wood. Expect it to have a much shorter life than it would in a wetter climate.

[NMDemDist2]

2. the contractor suggested Thompsons n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Our neighbor uses Thompsons every year

Their deck is about 15 years old and still looks .... okay.

Our deck is treated lumber that we have never treated further and it looks like new. The difference is that our deck is covered.

[NMDemDist2]

4. ours it treated lumber too

hmmmm wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to do anything to it but live on it??

:freak:

[eleny]

5. Behr - hands down

Seems like we have a mile of wood fencing on this place. Hubby was using the Thompsons product but it just doesn't last as long as the Behr. And the color is not as good. He uses the natural so it doesn't add color. But it gives the fence a nicer hue and glow, too. Behr lasts for years under our hot, dry sun.

Hubby just helped me to get the spelling of the name right and added that they carry it at Home Depot - Lowes doesn't have it around here.

[NMDemDist2]

6. Behr sounds good, but Mr K says will it change the awful green color

of the treated lumber??

:rofl:

[eleny]

7. Perhaps the Behr site can shed some light

http://www.behr.com/behrx/index.jsp

All I know is that Behr lasts the longest in this climate. In fact, we have some fencing where part was done with Behr and part with Thompsons. The Behr sections look lovely and the Thompsons boards look anemic. Hubby is redoing those.

Btw, green will look lovely at the holidays!

[NMDemDist2]

8. ho ho ho

:banghead:

[politicat]

9. The green will fade out if you let it.

New deck, eh? The first year with the deck, we just let it mellow. We were busy with everything else and the deck came in last, plus we moved in in November, and no, I was not going to paint in snow season.

Six months later, it was a nice, golden-woody color and we slapped down an untinted, oil based treatment from Lowe's on it. It was their mid-range finish, and it lasted about three years.

This spring, it was getting a bit grimy and faded, so I pressure washed it, then coated it with a rosewood stain and treatment on the front, and a hunter green on the back.

Plan to do it every three years or so - foot traffic will wear the finish off, if nothing else.

[NMDemDist2]

10. the stain companies recommend 4-6 months so this fall sounds

good to me

it's not like I don't have other things to do.....

[Digit]

11. I always heard Cabot's was better than Thompson's

Then again, I don't have any firsthand knowledge.

[Old and In the Way]

12. I did my PT deck and natural cedar railing in dark brown deck stain.

The railing was almost black from natural surface UV exposure, so I power washed the surface petina off and stained to match the PT deck...looks great 2 years later. Proably will give another coat next spring.

[Skidmore]

13. AZ, I can tell you a cheap way to spread whatever

you use. When we checked out renting sprayers they were nearly $200/day by the time you paid the deposits and associated fees. It was nearly that much to buy a sprayer too. We didn't want one for keeps either. Well, we have one of those little gallon hand pump sprayers that you use to spray for mosquitos that we bought for about $12 at Menards. We cleaned that out and used it. My husband sprayed the deck within half an hour with it. He also used it to put Thompson's water seal on our cedar siding. We have naturally aging cedar siding on our house. One gallon covered quite a bit of surface. Clean the sprayer out thoroughly with paint thinner and water immediately after using.