Deck Staining Jacksonville, FL - Going ballistic over balusters

WoodDocJax

WoodDocJax

banned
Our deck staining in Jacksonville, FL doesn't always turn out to be just a deck. Here are a set of stairs with decks attached to the house which sits about 14' off the ground. The lower portion of these stairs was literally 4-5' under water from a recent flood, when a tropical storm passed through.

We completely restored these stairs and decks, as well as a small dock, which sat about 10' under water, and even an 8' tall fence that was halfway submerged. We're waiting for all the rain to pass to finish the fence, but I'm just glad the stairs and all these balusters are done. Look at all this wood.

deck-staining-stairs-jacksonville.jpgdeck-stairs-stain.jpgdeck-stairs-staining.jpgjacksonville-deck-staining-stairs.jpg
 
Looks great!

Have you done many jobs where the wood has been under water? Did you notice any difference in the way the wood that had been submerged cleaned up or took the finish when you applied?

We have periodic flooding in our area too. I have heard of jobs going weird, especially if the wood has been under water for a long time. It could have a lot to do with the amount of silt we have in the water when its flooding.
 
Hi Beth. This is a first for me, with submerged wood. The only place I really noticed a difference with the wood being submerged was their dock. The wood did come out a little darker in color than the rest of the project, but I can't be sure if age didn't play a part in it. The fence and the stairwells came out great, with no indication that they were under water.
 
I was talking to the guys about it this weekend, and was told that what you stated is often the case. They said they usually just have to leave the brightener on the wood that had been submerged longer. Sometimes they will let it dry completely and then rinse it off later with a garden hose. They also told me that sometimes if the water has been up for a while there can be a watermark on the stringers or anywhere the water level remained constant for a prolonged time. This is probably the result of oil based materials floating at the surface of the water.
 
Well, after finishing the fence portion of the job, there was somewhat of a tiny shadow left from the water line, and we let the brightener dwell a good long time. If you look at the fence I just posted, you'll see it's actually a shade lighter in some of the areas that were submerged. The wood was totally dry, but for some reason the color was lighter there. So it seems that it can go BOTH ways when it comes to submerged wood. I'm guessing it depends on the age, type, and condition of the wood, because the fence is much newer pressure treated pine.
 
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