Allentown, Lehigh County

Wood staining in Allentown, PA.

West Park's streets are defined by their front porches, and the city asks that historic wood be kept well painted. Stain does its work on decks, on doors and woodwork inside, and on the townships' houses.

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A yellow Italianate Victorian with black shutters and a deep porch; a painter works from a ladder at the porch. — An Italianate Victorian in yellow clapboard, black shutters.

Front porches define West Park: the city's guidelines describe its streetscape by consistent setbacks, front yards and porches, and on Queen Anne houses the porch dominates the first story, often on turned wood columns. Across all three historic districts, the same guidelines ask owners to keep wood surfaces well painted, because paint layers protect wood from moisture, biological growth and ultraviolet light.

So in the old neighborhoods, paint carries most of the load, and stain is kept for decks behind the house and for doors and woodwork indoors. Out in Salisbury and South Whitehall townships, where most homes went up between 1950 and 1989, the staining is mostly decks, and they sit outside the city's districts.

Allentown

Porch-fronted streets and the city's paint-first guidance

The guidelines are firm about how failing paint comes off historic wood: down to the next sound layer, by hand-scraping and hand-sanding, and not by sandblasting, high-pressure power washing or mechanical grinders. That matters to an owner hoping to take a painted porch floor or steps back to bare wood for stain. The gentle methods are slow, and on a porch facing the street in one of the districts, ask the city before changing the finish at all.

Rain shapes the schedule. The city's precipitation, about 43 inches a year, is spread almost evenly across the months, with eight to twelve wet days in a typical one, so there is no dry season to wait for. Stain is fitted into the dry spells as they come, and a porch floor under a deep roof or a deck shaded by neighboring houses needs the longest of them.

A worker in yellow rain gear pressure-washing a deck beside a covered grill and white railings. — Washing a deck.

Worth knowing

Two finishes on one porch
Turned columns, rails and balusters shed water and hold paint well; floors and steps take foot traffic and standing water. On a district porch it is normal for the two to be finished differently, with a clean line between them.
Wood features to keep
The city's guidelines list cornices, brackets and window and door moldings among the wood features to preserve, and paint is what protects them. Where a front door was made to show its grain, stain and a clear coat keep it that way.
Later decks on midcentury houses
A deck on a 1950s or 1960s house in Salisbury or South Whitehall is often a later addition. Judge it by its own boards and the finish on them, not by the age of the house.

The work

How the work goes

The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to wood staining.

A Victorian front porch with white rails, painted posts, a green front door with an oval glass panel, and hanging baskets. — A Victorian porch: painted rails and posts.

The walkthrough
Randy looks at the wood with you: what finish is on it now, how it has weathered, which boards take the full sun. The walkthrough is complimentary, and so is the written estimate.
Cleaning
Dirt, mildew and loose gray fibers come off with a cleaner and gentle washing; too much pressure furs and gouges the soft grain. On cedar, redwood and oak, no steel wool or steel brushes, which leave dark iron stains in the wood.
Old film removed
Where solid stain or paint has peeled on a deck, the loose film is stripped or sanded away. A penetrating stain cannot soak through an old film, and a new film over a failing one peels with it.
Drying
The wood dries fully before any stain goes on, usually a couple of dry days after washing, longer in shade. Stain on damp wood soaks in unevenly and fails sooner.
Brushed in by hand
Penetrating stain goes on by brush, a few boards at a time with a wet edge to avoid lap marks, out of hot sun where possible. The wood gets only what it will absorb, and any excess left on the surface is wiped off.
Recoating
A penetrating finish is renewed with a cleaning and a fresh coat, no stripping. Shaded parts of a deck can go longer between coats than the boards in full sun.

Questions

Wood staining, Allentown.

Can we stain the porch floor of our West Park house instead of painting it?

Ask the city first. In the three historic districts, changes to exterior features visible from a public right-of-way need a certificate of appropriateness, and the guidelines favor keeping historic wood painted. Repainting a porch that is already painted needs no approval; changing what it is finished with is the question to put to the city.

The handrail in our rowhouse stair hall is worn bare in places. Does the whole stair need refinishing?

Not always. A handrail and newel post wear where hands land, and worn spots can often be cleaned, lightly sanded and blended into the old finish so the rest of the stair is left alone. If the color has to change, or the old finish is failing everywhere, the rail is taken back to bare wood instead.

Is a back porch seen only from an alley reviewed like the front?

The certificate requirement covers exterior features visible from a public right-of-way, so it depends on what can be seen and from where. Ask the city before rebuilding a back porch in one of the districts; refinishing it the way it is finished now is the simpler case.

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Nearby

Wood staining nearby.

All about Allentown’s houses

Wood staining in Allentown, PA.

Wood staining for Allentown homes

Porch-fronted streets and the city's paint-first guidance

Two finishes on one porch

Wood features to keep

Later decks on midcentury houses

The walkthrough

Cleaning

Old film removed

Drying

Brushed in by hand

Recoating

Wood staining nearby.

Request a private consultation.