Exterior Painting
Built for a climate that swings 120 degrees a year and tests every square inch of it.
See detailsMadison & Dane County
Deck & Fence Staining
Wood protection that survives a Wisconsin winter, not just a Wisconsin summer.
Railings and balusters, not the deck floor, are where the labor on a deck actually goes, so a deck with a long run of rail costs considerably more than its square footage suggests. Condition is the other half: silvered, weathered boards need cleaning and brightening before any stain goes down. In Wisconsin, a penetrating semi-transparent stain outperforms any film-forming product, because a film on a horizontal surface that freezes and thaws sixty times a winter will always peel.
- Timeline
- Most decks are a three-day cycle: clean, dry, stain. Stripping a failed solid stain adds two to three days.
- Wisconsin timing
- Wisconsin gives few genuinely dry stretches. We need 48 hours of dry weather before and 24 hours after, so deck work gets scheduled against the forecast and sometimes moved. That is the job being done right, not the schedule slipping.
A deck in Dane County takes more abuse than any other painted surface on the property. It sits horizontal, so it holds water and snow instead of shedding it. It gets full sun, so it takes ultraviolet load all summer. Then it freezes and thaws its way through the winter with water sitting in every checked grain line.
That is why product choice matters more here than anywhere else. A film-forming solid stain looks fantastic in year one and peels in sheets in year three, and then you are looking at stripping, which costs more than the original job. A penetrating semi-transparent stain soaks into the wood instead of sitting on top, so when it wears it wears thin rather than lifting. Recoating a thinned deck is a wash and a coat. Stripping a peeled one is a project.
Prep is a cleaner and a brightener, not a pressure washer at full trigger. High pressure furs the wood grain, and furred grain drinks stain unevenly and then fails first. We clean at low pressure, neutralize with a brightener that restores the wood's pH so the stain penetrates, and let it dry to the right moisture content before anything goes on.
Scope
Every kind of deck & fence work we take on.
Deck Cleaning and Staining
Clean, brighten, dry, and stain, with rails and balusters included in the number from the start.
Stripping Failed Solid Stain
When a previous film-forming product has peeled, it has to come off completely. Priced honestly, because it is real work.
Fence Staining and Sealing
Privacy fences, picket, and split rail, sprayed and back-brushed so the stain is worked into the grain rather than laid on it.
Pergolas and Arbors
Overhead structures that are awkward to reach and easy to skip, which is why they are usually the first thing to go gray.
Porch Floors and Steps
Painted or stained porch decking prepped for foot traffic, salt, and snow shovels.
New Wood First Finish
Fresh pressure-treated lumber needs to dry, sometimes for months. We will tell you when it is ready instead of taking the job early.
How we work
Step by step, no surprises.
You will know what is happening in your house on every one of these days before the first one starts.
- 01
Assess the existing finish
We identify what is on the wood now. A penetrating stain can be cleaned and recoated. A peeling film has to be stripped, and knowing which you have determines the entire price.
- 02
Clean and brighten
Low-pressure cleaning to remove gray fiber, mildew, and old residue, then a brightener to restore the wood's pH so the new stain can actually penetrate.
- 03
Dry to the right moisture
Wood needs to be genuinely dry, which after a wash in Wisconsin humidity means 24 to 48 hours. Staining damp wood is the most common deck failure we get called to fix.
- 04
Repair and set fasteners
Popped nails and screws set below the surface, split or rotted boards flagged for replacement. There is no reason to stain a board that needs replacing.
- 05
Stain and back-brush
Sprayed for coverage and immediately back-brushed to work the stain into the grain. Spray alone sits on the surface, and surface stain is the stain that wears off first.
- 06
Cure before use
24 to 48 hours before furniture goes back and longer before a grill. We tell you the real number rather than the optimistic one.
Our work
More deck & fence photosDeck & Fence projects.
How much does it cost to stain a deck in Madison?
Railings and balusters drive the number more than the deck floor does, because they are all hand work, so two decks of the same square footage can price very differently. Condition matters next: weathered boards need cleaning and brightening first, and that is a real step, not a rinse. We quote it after walking the deck, free.
How often should a deck be re-stained in Wisconsin?
Every two to three years for horizontal surfaces, and every four to five for vertical surfaces like railings and fences. The floor takes sun, water, snow, and foot traffic. The rails mostly just take weather.
Solid stain or semi-transparent?
For a Wisconsin deck floor, semi-transparent, nearly always. A solid stain forms a film, and any film on a horizontal surface that freezes and thaws all winter will eventually peel. When it peels, you are stripping rather than recoating, which is a much larger job. Solid stain is fine on vertical fence boards.
My new pressure-treated deck is three weeks old. Can you stain it?
Not yet. Fresh pressure-treated lumber holds a lot of moisture and needs to dry, sometimes three to six months depending on the season it was installed. Staining it early traps that moisture and the finish fails. We will check it and tell you when it is genuinely ready.
Can you fix a deck where the stain is peeling?
Yes, but understand what it involves. Peeling means a film-forming product has lost adhesion, and it has to come off completely before anything new goes on. That is stripping, sanding, and neutralizing, and it costs more than the original staining did. We quote it honestly rather than staining over it.