Deck staining is something that you should do with your deck on an annual basis, starting the countdown from the day that you or a contractor lays the last board. With a bi-annual cleaning, a quality deck stain can breathe new life into your outdoor life. But how much stain will it take to cover the entire deck?
That largely depends on the deck and the stain. Some woods are more porous than others and not every wood stain material is created equally. In general, however, one gallon should cover anywhere between 400 sq.ft. and 600 sq.ft.
It may seem like a large enough gap between what a gallon can and cannot potentially cover, but it just depends on how smooth and porous your deck is. If you have a smooth deck that has low porosity, then you will be able to stretch a gallon of deck stain.
How Much Deck Stain Should You Buy?
The general rule of thumb, especially if you are uncertain about the type of wood and how much it will absorb, is 1 gallon for every 400 feet. That should cover you for what you need to do and isn’t going to leave you hanging, short on deck stain, at the end of the job.
Determining your square footage is relatively easy as well, even if you have multiple sections on your deck. The formula for finding the square feet of a rectangle or square is length x width. Measure out the length of your deck and then the width. Multiply the two together and you will know what you need.
For instance, if your deck is 15’ wide and 25’ wide, is 375ft². That means that a single gallon will most likely have you covered, so long as you apply it the right way.
A 30’ x 40’ is 1200ft² and calls for 3 gallons of stain. To be on the safe side, you can always purchase a gallon extra. So long as it remains sealed, a gallon of stain has an excellent shelf life. Staining your deck should be an annual affair, so it won’t be on the shelf for long.
There are several different types of wood that are popular for deck construction and the 400sq.ft rule would apply to all of them.
Oak: Large pores and will absorb deck stain readily. Medium colors are best.
White Oak: Double your gallons of stain because it requires multiple coats.
Red Oak (interior): Medium colors are best and the absorption rate is somewhere in between oak and white oak so you may want to grab one extra gallon
Ash: Absorbs a ton of stain so you’ll want to double up, however, you can go with just about any color and it will stand out well on Ash
Chestnut: It has a moderate level of stain absorption and is popular with gray staining or anything in the medium color range.
Hickory: Stains well with just about anything but it should be sanded well beforehand to open the pores up.
Bamboo: lightly sand before application and use only oil-based stains.
Bamboo is relatively new to the US in terms of decking material and interior floors. Don’t overdo it with anything and be sure to thoroughly clean it before staining. We only mentioned bamboo here because of its growing popularity amongst consumers.
Do some Stains Require More Than Others?
That’s a good question because there are many types of stains. Typically, you have the oil and water-
based and that remains true throughout, but there’s a bit more to it than that and your choice of stain may require you to purchase a little more or a little less.
- Gel Stain
- Water Soluble Stain
- Lacquer Stain
- Varnish
- Metalized
These different types of stains are outside of the standard water and oil-based stains. They still technically fall under the umbrella of one or the other, however, their makeup separates them from the rest of the crowd.
Gel Stains
Gel stains are outstanding for oak applications and even ash. You can also use it for cherry even though we didn’t list that as one of the above options.
Decks that are constructed of highly porous wood will do very well with a gel stain as it is super absorbent and you will get plenty of fast penetration without having to use too much of it.
Water Soluble Stains
Water-soluble stains are good for lighter-colored wood because they usually consist of much darker dyes. If you apply it to dark wood, the result may be something that is way too dark.
Metalized stains are useful for several different deck wood types. No, it doesn’t give your deck a metallic sheen but rather, it’s a defining attribute of the chemical process that occurs as the stain interacts with oxygen and wood.
Varnish
Varnish has multiple looks and is great for light-colored decks. It’s also very resilient, almost serving as a proper sealant rather than just a stain. You can get a full, glossy, or semi-gloss appearance based on what you choose to go with.
Lacquer
Lacquer is easily the most popular deck stain on this list and it will work with just about any type of wood material. You will have to dive in for extra gallons as lacquer finishes will generally require more than one coat.
Lacquer is also the one stain that will give you the widest selection of colors to choose from. No matter what you want to go with in terms of darkness, glossy, semi-glossy, and lighter stains. While it’s not the best stain type on the list it’s the one, “jack of all trades, master of none” stain available.
Final Thoughts
If one gallon covers 400ft², you won’t have to worry too much about having to buy several gallons of deck stain. 400ft² is an awfully big deck and anything over that size is going to be truly monstrous.
However, it’s often a good idea to just grab that one extra gallon because you never know what might happen. Perhaps your gallon will spill when you’re halfway done or maybe you feel like one more coat will do the trick. It always pays to be prepared.
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