Cedar Deck?

Any of you fellow IDAers have a cedar deck? I am thinking about going with the Cedar and waterproofing it every year, versus the green treated (I don’t care for the looks of the green treated). The deck is going to be 14’x35′ so I don’t want to put all that money into it and 3 years later it be looking gray.
Does anyone have access to yours or someone elses cedar deck that they could post some pics and the age of the deck, how often they treaet it, kind of treatment etc…. I plan on doing the recommended treatments to the “T”, so the cost of that isn’t an object. I just want to know what to expect, a few years down the road.
Thanks fellow IDAers,
anxiously waiting your responses,
Brad

muskyman, I have never built a cedar deck, they have all been green treated. The thing to do with green treat, is wait a year after its built, and then stain it with a good quality deck stain, such as Behr. I have built about 5 decks, and I always tell the owner to treat after 1 winter with the Behr CedarTone, and it looks great. Then evry 2 years, restain. With the cost of cedar, this is the way I go.

big g

i would look into the new deck materials that look like wood (not sure what it’s called) but i have sen decks made of it and they look great better yet no maintenance with a cedar or t\wood deck you have to restain or seal every years and before you do that you have to clean the deck so your talking about a weekend project witch i guess is fine if you don’t like to fish
just my .02

Being a painter also, i’ve treated a few decks with this application and this is good for cedar siding or anything cedar. Its easy to take the greying off by pre soaking with a 20% bleach and 80% water sprayed on with a bug sprayer then after about an hour pressurewashing with a fan tip, this is done on an older discolored deck, you wouldn’t have to do it on a new deck. This brings back the true coloring of the cedar and a good treatment of 20% linseed oil and 80% mineral spirits is the best way i’ve seen how to retain the best all around treatment without changing the color. If you do want to stain the deck to change the color mix the stain right in with the linseed oil mineral spirts mix then spray or roll on then use a brush to back brush the tight spots for a through stain and treatment job. Pressure washing takes all the grey off and the wood looks new again but remember to not get the pressure too close or it splinters the wood. This works and is a good treatment and is the same thing (only better) as you would buy in a premix treatment and will last alot longer than a 2 or 3 year premixed application bought from the store. I did a cedar fence for a lady 6 years ago and after doing all the above it still looks great and hasen’t faded at all and the linseed still sits on the surface of the wood and the water still beads on it when it rains.

Muskyman- I just tore out a cedar deck and replaced it last summer. My neighbor has a cedar deck that is 2 years old. The key is not to treat it at all the first year then you have to treat it every year after that. I replaced my old cedar deck with “Trex” fake wood. I love it. No maintenence and it is in the cedar color. It is very strong, so strong that I built a 14 x 20 foot skating rink on it this winter for the kids. Some peolpe who have been to the house actually have thought it was wood. Cedar is beautiful but take a second and look into the Trex. Love2Fish.

my .02 It’s all down hill after install. Looks sweet when its new but that look cannont be fully maintained. I’v had both and down the road I preferred treated. I used colored stain on the treated and it looked very nice and consistent whereas the plain cedar shows its age no matter what you do. My buddy just had one made with the composite stuff and it definitely maintains its look.

Big G- how do they get Cedar Tones out of green treated?

Mossy- is this something you would have to do every year?

And yes I have looked at the fabricated decking but at 14×35 your probably looking at 6k just in materials. Plus you’d think that stuff would fade over the years….then what do you do? Can’t stain it can you?

My experience is that cedar fades after several years and then will need yearly treatments. It is also a softer wood that dents easily. It would not be my first choice for a deck.

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I’v had both and down the road I preferred treated. I used colored stain on the treated and it looked very nice and consistent

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Ditto. I’m only re-staining every 3rd year. The colored stain goes on like a coat of paint. Looks new after the job. My deck is pushing 20 years and I have only replaced a few boards in the high traffic areas.

-J.

musky man, the green will be gone after 1 winter. then the stain will take over. its pretty easy to apply. just get a glove for the spindles, and a pad on a 4 foot hadle, and its like mopping. like jon jordan said, he does his every 3 years, i do mine every other. it looks very naturally cedar, and it cost you about $130 every other year to do a 14 x 35.

big g

Thanks fella’s!! But is there any pro’s to the real cedar? Big G is there any way you could, or anybody for that matter, get a picture of the stainded green treated Big G and Jon are talking about?
Thanks again and keep them coming the more input I get the easier my decision will be

i can take a picture this weekend and post monday if that works.

big g

The only pro I can think of for cedar is how it looks/smells for a few weeks after installation.
Then the sun and rain start taking their toll.

I used to build decks on the side here and there. Cedar smells and looks great for the first year. MN is hard on them period. Cedar wood is not a structural wood by any means. Hence you see green treated lumber under a cedar deck. Wood decks are a thing of the past. Your stuctural supports like your beams are still green treated but you can purchase PVC sleeves for them. Think of a wood deck like an asphalt driveway……Its going to take work to maintain it. Hence man invented concrete I don’t know about you but when spring comes around, I like to get right to grilling and lounging. At least check into the maintenence free decking. It does not fade or warp.

Good point Matt! I poured a patio at my current house instead of a deck for that very reason. Zero maint execpt for putting out the furniture. Unless you have a slope concrete is definitely an option.

Muskyman, if you mix the treatment to the mix i said you would have to do it about every 4 or 5 depending on the weather. If you pressure wash it everytime you do it, it brings back the coloring then retreat it. The composit materials that are on the market now can be stained or painted, i know one kind can for sure. These decks will hold up better to ageing than a wood deck will. The composit decks hold up longer, then its green treated and this looks good when stained and treated then cedar comes in last when talking wear and ageing. Cedar looks the best best it dosen’t hold up the longest. When it comes to beauty cedar is my no. 1 choice, then green treated then the composits but they all look nice. If i were going to cover the deck with a roof i’d use cedar. In the area i live in i can get 20 years out of a cedar deck when taking care of it. If i framed it with green treated then decked it with cedar you could get more.

Big G that would be awesome!!! Thank You! And thanks to everyone else’s input as well…..I think I’m going with the green treated or the fabricated stuff. I do have a concrete slab that wil run under the whole deck but it is a 3′ drop from my patio door and I would like a level transition from the kitchen. Again thanks to everyones valued input
Brad

If you go with the green treated the mix i gave works for it too. After awhile, like everything, it oxidizes. If you pressure wash the green treated to bring back to new color again, let dry throughly then treat it, it will last a long time.

Ask yourself how long you plan on living at that place? If the answer is over 10 years, then go with the maintence free. You don’t do anything with it, and it doesn’t fade. They make some great stuff. It is just like asphalt of concrete. Asphalt is cheaper upfront, but with the dings, and marks and sealcoating every 2-3 years, I am not sure it is any cheaper in the long run. Spend a little more upfront and you will be fishing instead of staining in the future!!

If you can afford it look into Timber Teck decking no staining no maintenace but maybe spraying it down once a year. ITs not cheap stuff but will long outlast cedar or treated. Its a cleaner install with no exposed nail or screw heads. You will still need a treated frame under it but it will increase the resale value of your home and make life easier with the near zero mantinence.

Ditto on foundations and hard lumber, use green treated and let it set for at least a year and if its really soaked when you build it like some are then let it sit another 6 months. For the main flooring I would still invest in the new fake wood,afterall your saying you want to do it right. I cant see it costing that much for the main flooring only and green treated on the rails and structure. FF

We built a new home with a cedar deck in 1999. It was on a south side setting with no trees to protect from the sun. Consumer Reports said that there was not a good stain but I tried the ones that were rated for what was out there. After cleaning and staining my deck 6 times I decided to try SealMaxx. I checked the company out on the internet and found it has been in Canada for a lot of years. It’s formula had a cancer causing ingrediant in it. They changed the formula and the headquarters is now in Iowa. We had it done two years ago. It is 100% guaranteed for 25 years and the warranty is transferable to a new home owner. This year they came out with a color in the formula. Ours does not have the color and is natural. That means it looks grey when dry but “cedar” color when wet. Check it out. We had the company in Rochester do ours. Good luck! I absolutely hated cleaning and staining it! I’d rather go fishing! It cost $1,000 but doing the math by what it was cosing me to do this every year I’m satisfied.

Muskyman, I have a two year old cedar deck and need to treat it for the second time this spring. I like the cedar but already tiring of the maintenance. I might give the solution Mossydan said he has done. I have been using Olympic natural Look Protector it only seems to last for about 1-1/2 years then fades and gets blotchy. Good Luck. Also it seems that the steps made from cedar are wearing on the front edge faster that I thought. What’s a fella to do??

muskyman, this deck is green treat, adn when we moved in last fall, it was in a world of hurt. there was moss growing everywhere, and even little oak trees between the boards in spots. i used deck wash and pressure washer, and then Behr CedarTones. It looks good this spring too, after winter. Good luck.

big g

another look.

big g

big G,

Love the backyard! Looks peacefull and calming

Hello,
Would anyone know if Kreg Protec screws are ok for western cedar decking? I just bought them and read stainless is often used. Thanks!!

Cedar is no problem, will the screws go into something treated? That’s what you have to worry about. This thread is 14 years old. Might not get a response from op.

Kreg Protec are rated for ACQ lumber, they will be fine for most deck projects.