Backyard hub: 10x12 cedar pergola attached to the deck, with a 16-foot lattice privacy screen between the pergola and the neighbour's fence. Both unfinished cedar, six years in, going grey and starting to crack.
What we did
Twelve hours over Friday-Saturday, two-person crew:
- Friday morning: pressure-wash both structures at low pressure (cedar is soft, easy to scar at high PSI)
- Friday afternoon: sanded the worst-cracked rails by hand, vacuumed the dust
- Friday evening: brushed-on penetrating wood preservative, let cure overnight
- Saturday morning: first coat of semi-transparent stain (deep brown, customer's pick)
- Saturday afternoon: second coat
- Cleaned every drop off the deck boards underneath, cedar drops on cedar deck would have been a disaster
Stain choice trade-off
Customer asked about going to a solid-colour stain (lasts longer, looks more uniform). We pushed back to semi-transparent because they wanted the wood grain to still be visible. Solid stain re-coats every 3-4 years; semi-transparent every 2 years. They chose the higher-maintenance option for the look. Documented in the quote.
