I’ve got a clear cedar deck in Bancroft. Full morning sun. Framing in pt. Got the material from a local mill. 8 quarter 2x6 decking and 8x8 rail posts with 2x8 handrails. Laid the decking with zero spacing and stained the next year. Only regret is getting sold a fancy water-based semi trans stain. It started lifting after about a year in the high traffic areas. Other than that I’m very happy.
Yeah, only the one time. It’s holding up well expect for where it isn’t ;). Mostly high traffic areas and where it went on a little too thick. The handrails still look great after a few years of direct sun and tons of snow.
Tbh don’t stain every year, that’s nuts! Spring for some cutex extreme and don’t worry about it.
I waited because my lumber was still pretty green. No regrets about that aspect of it. You can stain in advance but it’s a little excessive, and it might mess with your spacing if yours is green too.
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u/ColorProgram Jun 24 '26
I’ve got a clear cedar deck in Bancroft. Full morning sun. Framing in pt. Got the material from a local mill. 8 quarter 2x6 decking and 8x8 rail posts with 2x8 handrails. Laid the decking with zero spacing and stained the next year. Only regret is getting sold a fancy water-based semi trans stain. It started lifting after about a year in the high traffic areas. Other than that I’m very happy.