Deck Finishing & Moisture Content

[traviswalken]

I am nearly complete with my new deck. I bought my lumber almost 1 year ago. I tried to get it done last summer but ran out of time. I stored the wood all winter in my garage.

I started installing the decking a few days ago. I got about 1/4 installed and was chased away by 2" of rain.

I plan to coat the deck with Sickens SRD. Sickens recommends a moisture content of less than 20%. I don't own a moisture meter and don't really want to buy one (unless it is a Harbor Freight cheapo model).

I think I should be able to finish installing the decking and coat as long as the rained on decking has a couple days to dry out. What do you think? Should my lumber be less than 20% moisture?

Thanks.

 

[lukem]

I assume we're talking about treated 5/4 decking here.

Hard to say. If it was in a large pile, even though it was stored in a garage, may still be pretty wet. Best bet would be to wait a couple weeks or even a month before sealing.

I had some treated posts in my garage for several months. They were stacked tight. The ones in the center of the pile were still wet to the touch.

Keep an eye on how much they shrink width-ways. You'll probably see 1/8" per board.

 

[jimbom]

If it is not treated lumber and your wife is a good sport and you are the experimenting type, you can see where you are using the oven. Cut a few samples of the wet decking that is 12" or so. Measure and weigh the samples to the nearest gram if possible. Put the oven on 200 °F or lower if possible. Pop in two samples and check the weight every hour until it stops changing much. Keep it in overnight and call it zero. Take a final weight and measurement. Keep the other samples on the deck in the least likely location to dry. Every few weeks weigh the samples. When they have reached 20% based on your oven sample, you are good to go. You will also know what shrinkage to expect. It took a couple of years on my son's deck in Alabama to really dry out so the stain would stick. He had water borne treated southern pine. Don't do this with treated wood.

 

[traviswalken]

I assume we're talking about treated 5/4 decking here.

Hard to say. If it was in a large pile, even though it was stored in a garage, may still be pretty wet. Best bet would be to wait a couple weeks or even a month before sealing.

I had some treated posts in my garage for several months. They were stacked tight. The ones in the center of the pile were still wet to the touch.

Keep an eye on how much they shrink width-ways. You'll probably see 1/8" per board.

The decking 5/4 x 4 cedar.

The wood "feels" dry. It is not very heavy. When I screw it down I get no moisture around the screw hole.

I did store the wood in fairly tight pile.

If the wood is over 20%, I wonder how big a problem it would be? If I coat a test board and it turns out well, it seems like it should be okay. I would guess the risk is that the stain will not penetrate the wood deeply enough and therefore require a recoat sooner???

 

[traviswalken]

If it is not treated lumber and your wife is a good sport and you are the experimenting type, you can see where you are using the oven. Cut a few samples of the wet decking that is 12" or so. Measure and weigh the samples to the nearest gram if possible. Put the oven on 200 °F or lower if possible. Pop in two samples and check the weight every hour until it stops changing much. Keep it in overnight and call it zero. Take a final weight and measurement. Keep the other samples on the deck in the least likely location to dry. Every few weeks weigh the samples. When they have reached 20% based on your oven sample, you are good to go. You will also know what shrinkage to expect. It took a couple of years on my son's deck in Alabama to really dry out so the stain would stick. He had water borne treated southern pine. Don't do this with treated wood.

Thanks for the idea. I might give it a try.

 

[woodsman23]

If it's cedar it's ready to stain, allow for one very dry day then go for it. Sikkens is the best i've used, is it the 2 part or 1 part?

 

[traviswalken]

If it's cedar it's ready to stain, allow for one very dry day then go for it. Sikkens is the best i've used, is it the 2 part or 1 part?

Thanks Woodsman23. I am guessing your are referring to 1 coat (SRD) vs. 2 coats (DEK). I am using the 1 coat.

I am too lazy for the 2 coats. Also, it looks like the 2 coat requires you to coat all sides of the board.