i am only familiar with thompsons and i don't know what else is available.

If you do not want it to be too slippery, just use a deck stain with a preservative.

Got a picture or description? I have a brick-paver driveway that can be sealed and I used to be in charge of our neighborhood's play ground and tennis court w/wood benches.

I h ave done lots of research!

however, we might have apainting contractor among us...

If it's not already built, you may want to consider starting out with marine grade plywood.

Defy - Synthetic resin wood stain. Recommended by a lot of builders.

... we used pressure treated & cedar - no stain though ... 'prolly should seal it though ...

Consumers who opt to install a wood deck or currently have one will

need to stain it every one to three years. Flood Solid Color Deck & Siding,

$21, was top-rated in Consumer Reports' tests. After three years of

exposure to the outdoors, its opaque finish looked and protected best.

Other opaque finishes that performed well include McCloskey Storm Coat Deck

& Siding 7953, $16, and Thompson's Water Seal Deck & House, $20.

For a semitransparent finish, consider Sikkens Cetol SRD 1708902, $27,

and True Value Woodsman UV 7338872, $20, which performed comparably,

although Sikkens only requires one coat. These are especially good choices

for pre-2004 decks that typically used toxic chromate copper arsenic (CCA)

lumber, since semipermanent stains tend to seal as they penetrate and are

less likely to flake as they age.

Consumer Reports' July issue features comprehensive ratings and buying

advice for decking and staining products and how consumers can check if

their deck needs to be replaced. Magazines go on sale June 3. The report is

http://www.ConsumerReports.org .

Now... not so much.

the deck is made of 4x8. the platform i walk on was originally 2x4's. 1 inch separation.

a few years ago, when the 2x4's started warping , i covered them with 3 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood, and covered that with asroturf.

i have an overhang that covers about half of the deck, with a gutter on the edge. the gutter didn't catch all the rain and i ended up with a small flood on the deck where the gutter leaked.

now i plan on covering the area that got soaked with a 4x8x1/2 ply and put the astroturf back over all of it.

i will make sure i have caulked all the leaking areas before the rainy season, but i want to coat the new piece with something water won't bother if there is any more leaking.

the deck is made of 4x8. the platform i walk on was originally 2x4's. 1 inch separation.

a few years ago, when the 2x4's started warping , i covered them with 3 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood, and covered that with asroturf.

i have an overhang that covers about half of the deck, with a gutter on the edge. the gutter didn't catch all the rain and i ended up with a small flood on the deck where the gutter leaked.

now i plan on covering the area that got soaked with a 4x8x1/2 ply and put the astroturf back over all of it.

i will make sure i have caulked all the leaking areas before the rainy season, but i want to coat the new piece with something water won't bother if there is any more leaking.

For roof decking,ok

For a Patio Deck ?

I don't think so,,,

wheel,

I would expect that unfinished plywood would last about 3-5 years; pressure treated plywood- if made- about 4-7 years. I do not know anything about marine-grade plywood. If you are covering it with astroturf, I would think that the cheapest sealant or stain on bot sides an all edges will suffice, provided that the astroturf's glue/cement will still adhere. Also, I hope you can avoid contact between the deck wood- not supports- and the ground and that their is air circulation available under the deck...

But, I think project is SoCal, only 3-4 inches of rain a year--it might last longer down there.

Rick, one thing you might want to remember is that APA (American Plywood Assoc) allows core ply of woods other than fir. Didn't used to be this way, but They changed specs a few years ago, and this stuff has been performing very poorly, especially the siding products commonly referred to as 'T-1-11' (a blanket term for all grooved ply siding). We re-sided one wall of local community hall with it 5-6 years ago, and tore it off last year because it had mushrooms the size of your fist--lots of them--growing on it.