Quakertown, Bucks County
Wood staining in Quakertown, PA.
Most houses in the borough's historic district have front porches, and on its rows and twins many run the full width of the house. In a town built of stone and brick, the porch holds much of the exterior wood.
Wood staining for Quakertown homes
Most of the houses have front porches, the borough's National Register nomination notes, and on its clusters of brick and stone row homes and doubles, full-length porches are part of the design, some broken by a Colonial Revival pediment. Because the walls are masonry, the porch carries much of a house's exterior wood: floor, steps, posts and rails, with the front door behind them.
Around the borough, Richland Township built most of its houses from 1980 on, roughly three in ten of them during the 2000s. On those houses the wood that needs stain is mostly the deck, and its age and the finishes already on it set the work.
Quakertown
Full-length porches on the rows and twins
Where porches run along a row, one owner's floor meets the next at the property line, and from the street the row reads as one long porch. Floors and steps take the hardest wear and are finished on their own, with a stain or a coating chosen for foot traffic, while posts and rails, usually painted, are a separate job; keeping the two systems apart lets each be renewed when it needs it.
Most of the borough lies inside the Quakertown Historic District, listed on the National Register in 2011, and listing on its own places no restrictions on a private owner. Before rebuilding a porch or changing what faces the street, ask the borough's code and zoning office what applies. Winter nights here fall well below freezing, so the steps and outer boards, wet one day and frozen the next, are where a porch finish fails first.
Worth knowing
Agree it with the neighbors
On a row or a double, porch colors are best agreed between owners. A stained floor beside a painted one, or two stains side by side, shows the line at once.
The door behind the porch
A stained front door under a porch roof holds its finish far longer than one facing open sun, so it is often on a different schedule from the floor in front of it.
Richland decks of the 2000s
Decks on the township's 2000s houses are now old enough for checks and loose fasteners to be looked at before any stain goes on.
The work
How the work goes
The same care on every job, in every town. The full guide to wood staining.
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, Quakertown.
Is there a review board for porches in Quakertown's historic district?
Most of the borough is on the National Register, and listing alone does not restrict what a private owner does. Local requirements are a separate question, so the borough's code and zoning office is the place to ask before a porch is rebuilt or its materials change.
Our row's porches run together. Can we refinish just ours?
Yes. Keep to the property line, end at a natural break such as a post or a board joint, and match the neighbors' color and sheen if the porches are meant to read as one. Randy can talk through the options with you at the walkthrough.
Our Richland Township deck has been stained every year and is now peeling. Why?
Penetrating stain put over a coat that has not worn away stops soaking in and builds into a film, and a film on a deck peels. The fix is to strip it back to bare wood once, then recoat only when water starts soaking in again.
More in Quakertown
Other services here.
- Level 5 drywall finishA skim coat over the entire surface, for walls that hold up under raking light and dark paint.
- Skim coatingRough, patched or uneven walls resurfaced smooth, often after wallpaper comes down.
- Plaster repairCracked, loose and failing plaster in older homes, repaired and made sound.
- Interior paintingWalls, ceilings, trim, doors and millwork, prepared properly and finished clean.
- Exterior paintingSiding, trim, porches, stucco and brick, prepared to stand up to Pennsylvania weather.
- Drywall installation & repairNew drywall hung, taped and finished; cracks, holes and water damage repaired invisibly.
- Drywall texture matching & removalTexture matched so repairs disappear, applied where you want it, or taken off for a smooth wall.
- Popcorn ceiling removalOld acoustic texture taken down and the ceiling finished smooth.
- Wallpaper removalOld wallpaper and wall linings stripped without tearing up the wall beneath.
Consultation
Request a private consultation.
Private walkthrough & written estimate, complimentary. Tell us a little about the house and the rooms, and Randy will be in touch to arrange a time.
- Hours
- Monday – Friday8:30 AM – 5:30 PMSaturday10 AM – 3 PMSundayClosed
- Service area
- Easton, Bethlehem, Allentown and the greater Lehigh Valley; Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Fully insured — proof on request. Residential and commercial.