This post was updated on May 1, 2024
Why Multi-year Deck Stain Warranties are BS
You should always be wary of companies who make wood stains and claim they will last for years on end. Often this is an exaggeration just to dupe customers into buying their brand.
Wooden decks look great and keeping them looking great is no easy feat. If you own one then you know how high maintenance they can be. You can choose to neglect your decking but you will see how quickly they deteriorate. Companies who offer warranties of up to eight years, however, are complicating things.
The problem with these warranties.
In all honesty, the issue is not that they are offering huge warranties. The problem is that when you cast your attention to the small print, you will be met with a myriad of complicated loopholes and clauses with the purpose to void that warranty – and we think that’s wrong.
If a deck stain existed that lasted as long as these brands claim, I promise you that every handyman, contractor, and painter across the globe would be using it but of course it doesn’t. So how are they getting away with offering these ludicrous warranties?
‘Correctly prepared surface.’
One of the oldest tricks in the book is companies that start their caveats with this.
‘The warranty only stands if the stain is applied to a properly prepared surface.’
Of course, a properly prepared surface is subjective so who decides what that actually is? Well, rest assured it isn’t you. If you decide to file a complaint then it is up to the company to send someone out to inspect your wooden decking. This is a drawn-out process that can take as long as the company deems fit and even if a representative does eventually visit – they will almost inevitably find some issue to void your warranty.
‘Fading of color.’
Another underhand trick that is often employed by companies is this; they will say that if fading occurs during the five year period then the stain is not covered.
Hold on!
Fading and greying of the wood is arguably the most natural thing that happens to a stained deck. It happens mostly because of sun damage which quite simply can not be avoided with an outside deck! Something is not right here.
Furthermore, they go on to say that if there is ‘too much footfall’ on the decking then it is not covered. Once again, who is the omnipresent representative that decides what ‘too much footfall’ is?
What can we do?
The crux of this article is that companies that advertise unrealistic warranties are being somewhat deceptive. They lure you in with impossible warranty claims and then use everything in their power to make the warranty void from the moment you leave the store.
There is not much that we can do apart from boycotting them and switching to companies with a proven history of integrity and reasonable warranties.
Behr Deck Stain after 1-2 Years
My contractor mistakenly painted a very dark shade of brown on my Pine wood fence. This happened about 3 weeks ago. Would this product help me in getting back the natural pine wood color?
Can penetraing oil be applied before stain and sealer
No, as it may repel the stain. No need as well.
Regarding my prior post, since the Behr Deck over is more like a paint what do you think about using a paint remover product to remove it as an alternative to sanding?
It will not work.
A few years back I followed all the instructions to prep my deck and used the Behr Deck Over product and within a year experienced the peeling bubbling problem associated with this inferior product. My question is what is the best product out there to remove it from my deck so I can refinish it with a quality stain and sealer. I considered renting a sander to sand it off, but the PT decking was nailed down through the boards, so the sander/sandpaper would catch many of the nail heads which are below the immediate surface of the boards but not deep enough. I attempted to nail them deeper with a punch but that is extremely difficult and there is no way I can do that on a 20′ X 14″ deck without encountering hand injuries trying to hold that punch directly over the nail head while striking it with my hammer . It’s been several years now and the deck looks horrible and has to be refinished. At this time cannot afford to rip up and replace decking, is there a stripper out there that will remove this lousy product? other ideas?
No, you will have to use a power sander to remove it.
My Behr semi-transparent stain peeled within a year and they blamed it on the prep. You are right, I belived their warranty.
Yep.