Southern Home Wood Deck in Richmond, VA 23225
Why Use Oil-based Water Sealants vs. Acrylic Water Sealants?
If you are a homeowner with a new deck or an older deck and this is the first time that you are planning to treat the deck, you probably want to know how to clean it to make it look new again. And, you probably are trying to figure out the best product to use on the deck to keep it looking nice and to protect the wood against rot and decay.
There is a multitude of fabulous products on the market, each providing great protection, but some create wood that will look good for years instead of just months. So, let me touch base on a few choices between products in the Richmond, VA area, Northern, VA area, and Cary, NC areas. It is important to mention available products along the east coast, for they do vary somewhat between what is available in other parts of the country. Wood decks in these areas are generally built with Pine lumber. In other parts of the country, Cedar is more prominent.
Wood is cut and milled and brought into big box hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowes regularly. It is a very short time period between the cutting and infusing/pressurizing of outdoor woods with chemicals to keep bugs from eating your new decks and fences. Usually, only a few weeks pass before the wood is shipped and stacked at your big box hardware stores. Wood can seem moist, and a little bit of time should pass before applying sealants or stains. A moisture meter is the best method to tell when the wood is ready to seal!
When wood is adequately dried, there are many products to choose from. For new wood, I almost always recommend using a product that contains Linseed Oil. Linseed oil helps to condition the wood. It strengthens wood fibers by pulling them back upon themselves. It keeps wood from cracking and splitting, by pulling fibers of the wood together and replacing natural oils that get lost during the pressure-treating phase with new wood, or with time as with old wood. Acrylic sealants do not give you the conditioning properties offered by Linseed or Tung oil. Wooden boats have been conditioned for thousands of years using these special oils.
One of my favorite products is one of the more natural-looking products, called Ready Seal Water Sealant. It contains both Linseed and Tung Oils. Another favorite is Olympic Maximum with Linseed Oil. Sherwin Williams and Benjamin Moore, both offer Linseed oil-water sealants and both are offered nationally. Read the label while searching.
Acrylic water sealants can be applied the same day that you clean. But, these products do not help to condition and strengthen the wood. Thompson's and Olympic both have good acrylic sealants, they may gray quicker on wood surfaces, but they both do a nice job of keeping water from penetrating a wood's surface and thus keeping rot and decay from taking hold.
If you are thinking about hiring a company, or if you have additional questions, please feel free to contact Southern Home Wood Deck in Richmond, Va, and allow us to discuss the pluses and minuses of using either version and what we feel about the various products available. Call, (804)585-8016 to reach Southern Home Wood Deck in Richmond, VA. We clean Wooden Decks, Wooden Fences, and Seal with the highest quality Wood Sealants available on the market. 
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