The Average Deck Refinishing Costs

Materials

• Refinishing a deck is well within the capabilities of the average homeowner and only involves the cost of the stain and some brushes. According to Cost Owl, 2 gallons of stain is sufficient to stain about 500 square feet. Prices vary by brand. According to Home Depot, a gallon of Thompson’s Water Seal Natural Cedar Tinted Wood Protector costs only about $2 per gallon. More expensive is EHT Exotic Hardwood Treatment at $30 a gallon. Near the top end is F&P Oil-Based Natural Deep-Penetrating Transparent Exterior at $23 per quart or $92 per gallon. All prices are accurate as of October 2011.

Labor

• Refinishing a deck must be done regularly, at least once a year, to maintain the durability of the wood. Waiting for longer periods may damage some of the boards to the point that they need to be replaced, which can get expensive. If doing it yourself takes too much time or trouble, you can hire someone else to take over the chore. This costs about $250 in labor for a 500-square-foot deck. You can supply the stain yourself, or have the worker purchase the gallons for a slight markup.

Workers

• The cost of labor for deck refinishing varies by location, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average wages for these landscaping workers ran $12.23 per hour as of May 2010. Their highest mean salaries were in the District of Columbia at $16.79 per hour and Alaska at $15.78, although below-average rates were found in Florida at a mean $11.04 per hour and Arizona at $11.12 per hour. The metropolitan areas with the most expensive labor were San Francisco, California at a mean $16.38 per hour, and both Bridgeport, Connecticut and Carson City, Nevada, which shared a mean $15.76 per hour. Below-average wages were available in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at a mean $9.94 per hour and Palm Coast, Florida at a mean $9.95 per hour.

Alternative

• One way to avoid the time and expense of refinishing a deck is to build it using composite or synthetic materials. Composite decking is made from recycled wood fibers in resin, while synthetic decking is formed entirely from plastic. Either version can have the texture of wood and can exhibit a variety of colors. No refinishing or resealing is necessary, and there’s no danger of rot or insect damage. Composite decking costs about 25 to 35 percent over natural wood materials according to MBM Carpentry as of 2009. But it saves money over the long run since only an occasional hosing and wiping are needed for maintenance.