Keep it Stained
It might seem self-serving for us to say this, but we really believe that keeping your deck stained is the best thing you can do. The wood has to remain protected from UV and water.
Get it refinished when it starts to go gray.
That gray is mostly fungus and it’s eating up the soft tissue between the tree rings (“grain”) which exposes the harder grain which leads to splinters. The wood has lost its waterproof coating as the stain has been damaged by the UV and rot starts to penetrate and weaken the wood. The UV from the sun is also drying the wood out. Don’t leave it the deck; it’s just not worth it. Plan on having it stained every 3-4 years (or every year or two with oil based stains which are much less resistant to UV).
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