Questions about treated deck care.

[Jack]

We have a large deck made of pressure treated wood. For the first two years we have not stained or sealed it. We were advised by several people to wait until it absorbed(rather than repel) water on the surface before applying any other coating.

Now the question is what to do, if anything. The owner of the lumberyard where our material came from said that treated wood doesn't require further staining or sealing. He said that those treatments are just for appearance. We don't mind it getting weathered looking but would like to preserve it from rotting. Does pressure treated wood need further treatment to extend it's life? If so, what is the best treatment? Is it best to seal or stain? Also, what is the best stain or seal and what is the best way to prepare the surface? Any thoughts will be appreciated.

[hallerb]

clean and seal looks better and gets you longer life. the sealing slows water infiltration into the wood which eventually causes failure.

in areas that freeze water gets in freezes and expands causing slow failure

in sunny areas UV damages the wood.

in both cases sealing helps slow the detoriation. eventually all decks will need replaced

[ransley]

Clean it with a deck cleaner, if its in shade kill mold with bleach. Transparent or semi transparent oil stain would be best. Cabots is #1 rated in consumer reports