Decks, fences and porches
Deck restoration for worn and peeling Atlanta decks
Past a certain point, another coat will not help. A deck that is peeling, splintering or patched with mismatched boards has to go back to clean wood before it can hold a finish again.
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Updated October 2026
Short answer
Deck restoration in Atlanta takes a worn deck back to clean wood: stripping failed stain, sanding rough boards, brightening and replacing rotted ones before new stain. HomeAdvisor's national figures put refinishing at $3 to $7 per square foot, and Angi puts Atlanta deck repair at $878 to $3,346. Call, and we check the framing before quoting.
When a deck needs more than a fresh coat
A maintenance coat only works when the old finish is wearing evenly. Once a film stain starts peeling, or the boards have weathered gray and rough, new stain sits on a failing surface and lets go fast. Restoration resets the deck: the old coating comes off, the wood is opened up, the worst boards are replaced and stain goes onto wood that can absorb it.
It costs more than staining but far less than rebuilding, as long as the joists, posts and ledger are sound, so we check those first.
What drives the price
Why restoration quotes swing more than stain quotes
Restoration is mostly labor, so the price follows how much work the wood needs.
Published range: $3 to $7 per square foot for deck refinishing; $900 to $2,720 for a 200 sq ft deck. Source: HomeAdvisor, national figures, June 2026. A planning figure, not our quote.
Coating to remove
Solid stain and paint need stripping; worn semi-transparent may only need cleaning.
Board condition
Checked, fuzzy boards are sanded before they will take stain evenly.
Boards to replace
Each soft or split board is pulled and replaced before stain.
Rails and stairs
Stripping balusters by hand is slow on a long run.
Deck height
Second-story decks need ladders and more protection below.
Stripping failed stain
Peeling solid stain and old deck paint have to come off before anything new will bond. We apply a stripper suited to the coating, let it work, then scrub and rinse at low pressure so the wood is not furred or gouged. Stubborn spots get a second pass. Stripping also removes the gray, sun-damaged fibers that make new stain look blotchy. Strippers leave the wood alkaline, so a neutralizer always follows, and we cover plants and wet the ground below to dilute runoff.
Sanding and brightening
After stripping, boards that are fuzzy, checked or cupped get sanded: a floor sander or large orbital across the field, hand sanding at the edges and around posts, enough to remove raised grain and splinters without thinning the boards. Rail tops get sanded where hands slide along them. Then an oxalic acid brightener evens the color, lifts tannin and gray stains and brings back the natural tone of the wood. The deck must dry completely before stain, and in humid weather that takes patience.
Board replacement before stain
Restoration is the right time to swap out boards that are soft, split through or cupped enough to hold water. We pull them, check the joists underneath for rot and fasten new boards with screws. New treated boards are usually wetter and greener than the old ones and may need time before they take stain evenly. Solid or semi-solid stain blends new and old; under a transparent stain the new boards stand out for a while. If joists or posts are rotted, that is framing repair, and you hear about it before any staining starts.
What the job includes
What our deck restoration covers
Restoration scopes differ a lot between contractors. Ours includes:
- Probing joists, posts and ledger first
- Stripping peeling stain or deck paint
- Low-pressure rinsing
- Neutralizer and brightener
- Sanding the floor, rail tops and treads
- Replacing soft or split boards
- A moisture reading before stain
- Stain on the floor, rails, stairs and fascia
Restorations usually start with Behr or Wolman strippers and brighteners and finish in Cabot, Defy or Sherwin-Williams stain.
- Behr
- Wolman
- Cabot
- Defy
- Sherwin-Williams
- Flood
- Restore-A-Deck
- Penofin
- Olympic
Around Atlanta
Shade, canopy and the decks that wear out fastest
A Georgia Tech assessment found 45.7% of Atlanta under tree canopy in 2023, with 72% of the city's remaining trees on land zoned for single-family homes, so plenty of backyard decks sit in shade. Shaded boards dry slowly under leaves and needles. Decay fungi need wood at roughly 20 to 30 percent moisture, per Colin McCown of the American Wood Protection Association, and the boards that stay damp longest are the ones we replace most often.
How the job runs
Five stages from peeling deck to fresh stain
Inspect the structure
Joists, posts and ledger are checked before cosmetic work is priced.
Strip and rinse
Stripper lifts the old coating and a low-pressure rinse carries it off.
Neutralize and brighten
The brightener balances the stripper and evens the color.
Repair and sand
Bad boards are replaced and rough surfaces sanded smooth.
Dry, then stain
Stain goes on once the wood reads dry.
Questions
Deck Restoration questions we hear in Atlanta
Staining adds a coat to a deck in fair shape. Restoration removes the old finish, repairs boards and starts over on clean wood.
Usually, with stripper and patience. Many layers may need sanding too, and we tell you if stripping will not get it all.
Clean and even, but older wood keeps some weathering. Replaced boards blend best under semi-solid or solid stain.
We replace deck boards. Rotted joists, posts or ledgers are structural repair that comes first, and we point them out.
High pressure gouges pine and raises the grain, so we use cleaner and a low-pressure rinse.
The wood has to dry after stripping and brightening before stain, so the weather sets much of the schedule.
Same kind of work
More decks, fences and porches
Deck Staining
Transparent, semi-transparent or solid deck stain.
Fence Staining & Painting
Pine and cedar fences stained or painted.
Porch & Patio Painting
Porch floors, ceilings and concrete steps.
Metal Railing & Handrail Painting
Rust removed, iron and aluminum rails repainted.
Ready when you are
Is the deck too far gone for a simple coat?
Phone us at any hour and describe what you see: peeling stain, gray wood, soft boards. We will set a visit to check the wood and the framing.