Pressure-treated wood is made from southern yellow pine. Before it is placed on the racks of your local lumber retailer, it is chemically treated to make it impervious (or, as impervious as it can be made to be), to a multitude of environmental factors.
When it comes to the deck railing, pressure-treated wood is an excellent and smart choice, although it, like other deck railing options, has its drawbacks. There’s no questioning the fact that pressure-treated wood railings are far more durable and long-lasting than untreated wood.
Untreated wood would crack, rot, discolor, and decay before your very eyes. There are other types of deck railing, including metal and vinyl varieties but wood railing is the most common by far, along with being the easiest to obtain, if not install.
Pros and Cons of Pressure Treated Deck Rails
If there is one thing that most people don’t realize when they purchase pressure-treated lumber, is that it almost always comes with a warranty against fungus, termites, decay, and possibly more. It’s well worth spending some time going over the paperwork when you make a purchase.
Pressure-treated deck railing is designed to be resilient against fungus, rot, damage from sunlight, and moisture. The wood is treated with what is called Micronized Copper Azole, which is a formulation designed to treat wood and render it capable of the above-listed resistances.
It is a simple combination of copper and azole, the latter of which is used in so many personal, cosmetic, and cleaning products that the list is innumerable. Copper, of course, is copper, and as a metal, it has some pretty astonishing, bug-resistant properties, especially against termites.
Although the context of this article involves using pressure-treated wood for deck rails, it is also designed to resist the effects of long-term contact with the ground. So, all-in-all, pressure-treated deck rails are pretty resilient.
What Are The Downsides?
Unfortunately, as with everything else, there are some caveats. The chemical treatment that this type of wood undergoes is considered to be harmful to the environment, so if you are environmentally conscious, pressure-treated lumber may not be the best fit for you.
There is a lot more maintenance involved with pressure-treated wood than other railing types. Even with the pressure treatment, it must be cared for, cleaned, and sealed every year at the very least.
You can easily get over three decades out of pressure-treated lumber, but not without regular maintenance of the kind that you wouldn’t have to with metal or vinyl railing.
You will also have to deal with the natural process of discoloration, as time will turn the wood gray. It’s not something that can be avoided but it can be slowed down through the proper application of stain and sealant on a yearly basis, along with routine cleaning.
| Pros | Cons |
| Long-lasting and durable Resists rot and termites Resists moisture damage Resists UV damage Resists damage from long-term ground contact Carries a warrantyCost-effective | A high level of maintenance and preventative maintenance Will turn gray over time Suffers from “checking”Requires annual staining and sealing |
How Long Will Pressure-Treated Deck Rails Last?
If you routinely maintain and treat your deck with stain and sealant, which includes the rails, of course, then you should easily get 30 years out of your deck rails. Most deck rails that are constructed with pressure-treated wood and properly maintained, will last up to 50 years.
Most pressure-treated wood is made with southern yellow pine, however, if it is constructed with cedar or redwood, the longevity of the deck rails will be increased even more. Both of these wood types are superior to yellow pine, but they’re also far more expensive.
The older your deck gets, the more maintenance will be required to keep it up. This is especially true of the railing, which is typically made with smaller pieces of wood and exposed to all that your deck boards are exposed to.
Is it Better to Stain or Paint Your Deck Rails?
Many pressure-treated wood railings will look incredible with nothing more than a good stain. The fact is, cedar, redwood, and perhaps mahogany are great looking all on their own and when you stain them, they look even better.
If it’s southern yellow pine, which is the most common type of pressure-treated wood, then painting it is more than fine. Whether you use paint or stain on your deck rails, it will preserve them and extend their longevity in the same way.
Paint and stain are relatively the same in the types of resins that they use to bond to the material on which they are applied.
Since pressure-treated wood is treated with a resilient copper and azole combination, it is already resilient to the elements, however, the addition of either a stain or paint will increase the longevity of the deck railing.
Painting Pressure-Treated Deck Rails
Paint is more difficult and costly to apply than stain, but it does offer a lot more variety. Paint also lasts longer than stain and doesn’t require reapplication on an annual basis. It can last up to 10 years so long as it is maintained.
Staining Pressure-Treated Deck Rails
Staining may not last as long as paint does but it is far easier to apply and it is also much cheaper. It doesn’t last as long and it should be reapplied once per year. It doesn’t chip or bubble as paint does, in the event that it is not applied evenly throughout.
Ultimately, it’s a choice of appealing aesthetics and how often you appreciate the task of reapplication. If you’re using pressure-treated cedar or redwood, staining might be the better option just because of how well it looks.
Either way, so long as you stick with routine, proper maintenance, stain or paint will be highly advantageous and long-lasting.
Final Thoughts
If you’re going for wood rails, pressure-treated warm rails are the only option, as non-treated wood is only going to decay. Properly maintained and routinely cleaned, untreated wood can last around 10 years, but pressure-treated wood, maintained in the same way, will give you 5 times the longevity.