A 10-year-old 18×24 cedar deck on a Watertown two-family home. Never restained since install. Boards had gone uniformly UV-gray; railings were splintering; one corner board near a downspout had partial rot.
The challenge
Watertown decks face direct south-facing UV plus humidity from the nearby Charles. Cedar at this age has lost most of its surface oils, so penetrating stains need extra dwell time + a sealer topcoat to lock in the color.
What we did
- Replaced one rotted corner board + redirected gutter splash
- Wood-brightener wash on all boards to lift UV-graying
- Floor-sand boards with 60-grit (rough) then 80-grit (smooth)
- Hand-sand railings to clean substrate
- Tightened 30+ deck screws + replaced 8 corroded fasteners
- Two coats Cabot Cordovan Brown semi-transparent (penetrating)
- Cabot Australian Timber Oil topcoat to lock in UV protection
The result
Warm cordovan finish that lets the grain read through, sealed against the next 3-4 years of MA weather.