"Joseph Chong" wrote in message
news:Y0%5e.943797$8l.498784@pd7tw1no...
I live in Vancouver Canada. We had our deck stained with a semitransparent
stain by student painters last June. This rainy winter it has already
peeled. The deck is cedar that lays on top of a membrane coated surface,
with about a half inch gap supplied by slats i guess they are called. The
fence and railings are not peeling, but I am wary. They applied a layer of
water based then oil based stain, telling me it was the way to go, now I
am
realizing that this is not. There is no warranty on deck finishes.

Do you think it was the finish technique or the nature of the weather and
deck that caused the peeling? If I redo it now, what would you do? Because
the deck is close to but not in touch with water underneath is this the
cause of peeling and if so would you then sela the underside of all the
deck
somehow? (The deck 'floats and is removable is segments so I could do that
but it is a huge job.). Is there a recommended type of product to use?


I'm a little confused - a true semi-trans stain should penetrate into the
wood and not leave any film on the surface that could peel. Any sort of film
former - be it paint, solid stain (oil or latex), etc. is going to fail on a
horizontal surface. That failure will be accelerated if dampness is present
underneath. My advice - remove the existing finish (if you use a pressure
washer, be very careful not to tear up the soft cedar). Let it weather for
a year in case there is any residual paraffin from the water sealer, then
apply a semi-transparent oil-based stain. This will pigment the wood but not
leave a surface film.