We just completed a screened porch that has a high ceiling with exposed beams of marine grade treated lumber and T-111 on the ceiling. We want to stain it. What's the best product to use? Should we wait a while before the wood is stained? Thanks

Ava, I think the branch manager meant, if the concrete is raw or unpainted - then it is porous, once it is painted with any type of paint including an acrylic epoxy paint it is no longer porous. Therefore the type of sealer I would use would be different than if I had used a stain on the concrete - with a stain the concrete is stil porous but with an acrylic epoxy the concrete becomes non porous. Since that time I talked with the woman who originally put this treatment on her restaurant floor and she used an oil based varathane. However, I am going to use a water based or acrylic based varathane on mine. I have talked to several people and the water based sealer has less of a tendency to yellow than the oil based. Also I am thinking if I want to change the color or redo the concrete floor in the future, then I am thinking it will be less troublesome to redo a floor with a water based product. One point - I have tried using varathane with a roller before and it tends to put little bubbles in the finish, so I am going to use a flat sponge to apply the varathane. The woman doing the restaurant floor used a flat applicator to apply the varathane too. I am going to try my garage floor this week and will let you know how it turns out.

I didn't include a deck when building my retirement house. I opted for an enclosed patio which provides all season use. Azek facia is the way to go. Just be sure the gutter installers do not overdrive/over torque the hidden hanger screws or the screws will loosen over time. In my experience, Duration and Aura offer equal performance when used on properly prepared exterior surfaces. Two coats required.

I like the flooring this color. But the ceiling I would maybe do some white paneling over it ...