When putting in a new wooden deck, when do you stain it?

We were told one year giving the wood time to ripen.

Did you use treated wood? If so, then you do need to wait at least one year--maybe longer. To checked to see if it is ready for stain do the water test. This means pouring about 1/4 cup of water on a deck board. If the wood is still repelling the water it will bead up on the top--and it's not yet ready to accept stain. If the water soaks in without beading up then the wood is ready to accept stain. My advice is to use a stain that soaks into the wood rather than just laying on the top like paint. I use a linseed based stain and I do not have any peeling or chipping and I only need to redo the deck about every 2-3 years. No more fighting with having to redo my deck because of peeling deck stain products that just lay on the top of the wood and deterioate.

Wait at least a year. Fresh milled wood is to "wet" and the stain will not absorb well. See if these sites clarify it for you.

https://www.opwdecks.com/when-to-stain-a-new-deck.htm

https://www.familyhandyman.com/decks/can-you-stain-pressure-treated-wood/view-all/

https://www.deckstainhelp.com/staining-a-new-deck/

Hello Lori, I tend to wait until the wood has weathered a bit, because the stain Preservative goes in better. I don't believe there is a right time, it just depends on you and your needs. It will probably need to be done again after the first year anyway because it will have sunk in or faded a bit.......... Looks like a nice job!

Untreated wood about a month if the weather is dry. Four months if the weather is wet. Treated wood six months to a year. Use a good UV rated deck stain. Your choice of transparent, semi-transparent, or solid.

I've seen conflicting messages too. I used a semi-transparent (which is what you should use on a new wood deck, not semi-solid or solid) last summer and I'm currently stripping it all off as it flaked. As such I'm doing a lot of research so I don't go through this again. I've read articles all over the place lately; some suggest doing it right away or wait a couple weeks depending on how wet the wood is. If your pressure treated has a wax on it, sand it off. Make sure it's not a film-forming stain, that it's an oil or penetrating stain/sealer. I know, it's confusing, there's advice all over the place. Research and decide what's best for you.

I have stained a redwood deck within a couple of weeks. If the decking is pressure treated then it needs to wait. Get advise from a local paint store like Sherwin Williams and not the kid working in the paint section of Home Depot.

Hello,

If the timber is new it is going to shrink a bit as it dries out. You could stain it now but not seal it yet. I would say, check it out again before next winter and then stain it again as the timber would have taken the colour in and the sun may have faded it too. Hope that helps. If you leave the timber as it is it will dry to a silver grey colour with age.