Sealing decks - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

MAC2PAINTING · 10-21-2009, 11:03 AM

I would appreciate some input on this dilemma, sealing decks with stairways.
problem is , time for sealing these things is growing short. I have to finish,but this rain is driving me nuts. So my question is ...can i seal the top of horizontals and leave the bottom to finish drying before sealing the bottoms??? The tops test ok on the moisture meter, bottoms not so much. So I was thinking

...why not seal the tops, this way no more rain can get thru, andb then the bottoms would continue to dry.

....so whatta ya think ?

Megabass · 10-21-2009, 04:46 PM

I was under the understanding that the bottoms should never be sealed. If I am way wrong, somebody chime in. I made the mistake of doing that earlier in my career with a solid color stain, and that thing peeled SO bad. I sealed it on the 6th day with no rain and it was DRY in that summer heat. Used Cuprinol on a clean deck with stairs. Never did that again and got way better results.

abacab · 10-21-2009, 06:21 PM

My painter said he recently sealed the top and bottom of a deck at the request of a homeowner and now it has peeled after just one year.