Cedar, pressure-treated and how each behaves under blasting

Most decks around here are one of two things, and they do not respond the same way.

Cedar

Soft, with a pronounced difference between the spring and summer growth. That means it is the easier of the two to damage — too much pressure and you erode the soft bands and get a corrugated surface.

Done at the right pressure it comes back beautifully, with the grain raised slightly and a warm colour that takes stain evenly. It rewards a light hand and punishes a heavy one.

Pressure-treated

Denser and more forgiving of pressure, but it brings its own issues. PT boards often check and split as they dry, and blasting will clean out those checks and make them visible. That is not damage — it is what was already there under the grey.

PT also sometimes has a mill glaze or residual treatment sheen that stops stain penetrating. Stripping removes that, which is often why a PT deck takes stain properly for the first time after blasting.

Both need sealing promptly

Freshly stripped wood of either species is open and will start greying again within weeks in our sun.

Both are common across Medicine Hat, and often on the same property — cedar for the rails and pressure-treated for the structure. They do not respond the same way, so one deck can need two settings.