Deck Painting & staining in Roslindale, MA.

Boston's Open Space Plan, in a profile built on 2000 Census data, reported that 60% of the neighborhood's housing stock was one- and two-family dwellings, compared with 32% citywide, and noted that these homes often have backyards, occasionally sizable ones. That outdoor space is where decks, rear stairs and porch landings live, and on a two-family the back of the house can hold a stack of porches, one for each household.

A deck's finish is a maintenance item, not a one-time project. The right product depends on three things: the wood, the amount of sun and moisture the boards see, and what's already on the surface.

Shade is the main enemy here

The City's canopy assessment put tree cover at 34.0% of the neighborhood's area, well above Dorchester's 22.4%. A deck under a full canopy gets leaf litter packed into board gaps, stays damp after rain, and grows mildew and algae that turn the surface slick and dark.

On a shaded deck, cleaning matters as much as the coating. Boards get a cleaner that kills mildew, a thorough rinse, and a brightener to restore the wood's color before stain. Penetrating semi-transparent stains with a mildewcide tend to wear more evenly in the shade than thick films, which can trap moisture and peel. Sweeping debris out of the gaps every fall keeps water from sitting on the boards through the winter.

Wood types and what they accept

Pressure-treated pine has to dry before it takes stain; if water beads on new boards, wait. Cedar absorbs oil-based and semi-transparent stains readily and grays if left bare. Ipe and other tropical hardwoods are too dense for regular stain and need a hardwood oil applied thin. Composite decking is cleaned, not stained.

Older back porches may have tongue-and-groove fir flooring that was painted rather than stained. Those floors need a porch-and-floor enamel, not a deck stain, and they hold up best when the porch roof keeps most of the rain off.

Painted porches on pre-1978 houses

In ZIP 02131, 82.3% of housing units are in structures built in 1979 or earlier. Painted porch floors, railings, balusters and lattice on pre-1978 houses can carry layers of lead paint, and foot traffic grinds it into dust. Paid work that disturbs that paint must follow EPA lead-safe rules: ground sheeting, no torches, and HEPA-equipped sanding. Stripping a whole porch to bare wood disturbs a lot of old paint; scraping the loose areas, priming and recoating is usually the more contained route. See our lead-safe painting page.

If the paint is failing because the wood underneath is soft, the rotten boards should be replaced first. New wood primed on all sides, including the cut ends, lasts far longer than wood primed only on top.

Stain or paint, and when to schedule

Walking surfaces do best with a stain that wears away gradually; railings and skirting can take solid stain or paint because they shed water. The paint vs. stain comparison goes into the trade-offs, and the post on deck stain through New England winters explains freeze-thaw wear.

Stain needs dry wood and a couple of rain-free days above the product's temperature minimum. On a shaded lot the boards may need longer to dry after a storm, so spring and early fall jobs are planned around the forecast. For the siding and trim, see exterior painting in Roslindale.