You’ve got new wood and you want to protect your investment. But you’ve heard horror stories of peeling decks and dread the thought of endless maintenance. Perhaps you even like the faded gray look. What are your options? Can it be possible to leave your newly built wood deck, fence, or siding entirely unfinished… Forever?

Here’s a quick dive into the pros and cons of unfinished wood followed by an explanation of mill glaze and what you need to know about the first time finishing wood.

We get calls for staining brand new decks, restoring old faded gray wood decks, and everything in between. Without question, the number one reason people seek help for their deck is out of sheer frustration that their deck peels every single year, no matter what they do, or who they call.

Some feel gypped for buying the most expensive product in the store only to see it fail after its first winter. Others are completely discouraged their deck is chipping after spending countless hours sanding it. Neither are wrong to feel this way. There are many reasons a deck can fail and you might have everything exactly right except for one piece of it.

The two biggest reasons a deck peels are…

You’ve got pressure treated wood and you want to maintain so it lasts and looks its best in the process. You may have heard or read in our articles that sanding prep work is essential before staining, sealing, or finishing a deck.

This is true to remove mill sheen on new cedar lumber, removing peeling stain from a deck, or periodically (after several years or re-coats with a penetrating oil) to restore it before staining it again. The exception to this is: pressure treated lumber.

Here are five reasons reasons you should never sand your pressure treated wood…