See what your fence or deck should cost to stain, in about a minute. This fence stain calculator runs on the same numbers our estimators use in the yard.
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Your answers are saved on this device for a day.
Free online estimate
About a minute. A price for each of our three stains, with your discounts taken off.
Free, no obligation
Step 1 · About a minute
We save your answers as you go and text you once when your range is ready. No spam, no sales calls you did not ask for.
Add up every side you want stained. A guess is fine, we measure before we start.
Over 600 feet? Let's price this one together.
Long fences get a closer look, and often a better rate per foot than we can show online. Text or call and we will set up a free look.
From the ground to the top of the boards. Most privacy fences are 6 ft.
About how many feet are one side only? The rest is priced as both sides.
It decides the stain we use. Oil will not soak through a water-based coat.
Length times width. Porches count the same way.
About how many feet of railing? Measure along the top rail.
Count each step you stand on. Zero if none.
It decides the stain we use. Oil will not soak through a water-based coat.
Pick any that fit and we take them off your price on the last screen. Skip if none do.
A thank-you discount pick one
Know us already? pick one
Plus 5% off when you book within 7 days of seeing your price. Fence and deck together save another 10%. Discounts top out at 10%, and they come off the staining, not the prep.
Does an HOA have to approve the color?
When are you hoping to get it done?
Your price range
Same job, same stain, at the prices a homeowner pays at the store.
Same job, two ways
An estimate to compare, not a quote. DIY uses the stain maker's list price before tax, homeowner-grade equipment, and your time at $25 an hour; store prices change. Our figure is the middle of your range above for the same stain level, with your discounts. Your written quote after we look at the fence is the price. Tap a product to see it on the maker's site.
Prices include the discounts you picked; we confirm them at the look. Your final price comes after a quick look, in writing, before we start.
Includes the moisture check, any wash you picked, the stain, cleanup, and our 12-month workmanship warranty.
Repairs like broken pickets or boards are priced when we see them.
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DIY or hire it out
Staining it yourself looks cheap until you price the stain, the gear, and the time you spend. Here is the full list for a common fence: the same oil we use and the right equipment to put it on, at the prices a homeowner pays.
200 ft privacy fence, 6 ft tall, both sides, new wood
Priced with our Essential level: Exotic Timber Oil, oil-based. An example, not your fence. Run the calculator for yours.
Doing it yourself$2,705
Same fence, two ways
We buy stain in large volume, so depending on the product we pay as much as 50 to 60% under the list price on the shelf. The homeowner pays list.
Commercial sprayers and washers are spread over hundreds of jobs. Buying them for one fence is most of a DIY budget.
A trained crew with the right rigs moves fast. The same fence is a weekend or two for most homeowners.
We order by the measurement and carry partial pails to the next job. No half-used cans in your garage.
An example to compare, not a quote. DIY uses the stain maker's list price before tax, homeowner-grade equipment, and your time at $25 an hour; store prices change. Our figure is the middle of our Essential range for this fence before any discount. Your written quote after we look at your fence is the price.
Our stains
Every price shows all three levels. Switch between oil and water-based.
Oil soaks deep into the wood and brings out the grain. It fades over time instead of peeling, so the next coat is easy. What we use on new wood and anything oiled before.
Essential
A penetrating tri-oil at our lowest price
Best for A real pigmented oil on a budget
Performance
The widest color choice, 18 colors
Best for The most colors with strong sun protection
Showcase
Premium oil made for log homes and timbers
Best for The longest-lasting oil finish we offer
Water-based stains dry fast, clean up with water, and have less odor. We use them when the wood already has a water-based coat, since oil will not soak through it.
Essential
Premium solid color at the best water-based price
Best for Strong protection at the best water-based price
Performance
Self-cleaning: rain lifts dirt off the finish
Best for A low-maintenance finish in full sun
Showcase
Sherwin-Williams’ most durable exterior wood stain
Best for The most durable finish with the longest warranty
Product names open the maker's page. Warranties are the manufacturer's terms. Our 12-month workmanship warranty comes with every level.
We pick products for how they wear on Upstate fences and decks after a few summers, not for how easy they are to roll on.
Oil-based
Water-based
Store-shelf deck and fence coatings are made to be easy for anyone to put on in a weekend. Many are film finishes that sit on top of the wood. In Upstate sun and humidity the wood keeps moving, the film cracks, and it peels in sheets.
Walk down the stain aisle and most of what you see falls into a few types. Here is what each one does on an Upstate fence or deck, and why we don't recommend it.
Clear water sealers
A clear coat that makes water bead up. The cheapest can on the shelf.
What we use instead A pigmented oil that soaks in and keeps its color.
Transparent water-based
Water-based acrylic with just a hint of color, sold as "transparent" or "toner".
What we use instead Oil with real pigment, or a solid water-based pro coat when the wood already has one.
Deck resurfacers
A heavy coat, almost like paint, sold to fill cracks and hide a worn deck.
What we use instead Clean, strip, or sand to sound wood, then a stain that soaks in.
Film-forming acrylics on decks
Opaque water-based stain that covers the grain, like a thin paint.
What we use instead Oil on deck floors; a solid water-based coat only when the deck already has one, since stripping it would cost more.
Source: U.S. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, Christopher G. Hunt, Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material (2021), Chapter 16: Finishing Wood, pages 16–16 to 16–22 (full handbook, PDF). The Forest Products Laboratory is the Forest Service's wood research lab in Madison, Wisconsin. Label claims are from the makers' own product pages. We compare product types, not brands.
What sets your price
Fences are priced by the foot along the line. Decks by the square foot of floor.
Six feet is the base. Each extra foot of height adds about 20%.
Shadowbox and board-on-board have about a quarter more wood to cover than a flat privacy fence.
Your side only costs about a third less than both sides.
New wood is the easy end. Grey wood needs a wash. Peeling stain has to come off first.
Three levels, from a budget tri-oil to a long-life log and timber oil.
The wood's condition decides the prep, and the prep is often the biggest swing in the price. Here is when each one is needed and what we do.
Light cleaning only
Any greying or mildew, even faint, means it needs a soft wash. Stain will not bond to weathered wood.
Adds no days
Our most common prep
It handles most fences and decks without the cost of stripping.
Adds about 1 day
When the old finish is failing
Re-coating a similar stain in good shape usually needs only sanding, not a full strip.
Adds 1 to 2 days
Shadowbox and board-on-board take longer to wash because of the extra board faces. We confirm the prep when we look at the wood.
More boards and more gaps mean more stain and more hand work. Here is how each style compares with a plain privacy fence.
Count the sections, times 8. Most fence sections are 8 ft from post to post. Count them along every side you want stained, gates included, and multiply by 8.
Length times width. Measure the floor both ways and multiply. For an L-shaped deck, measure each rectangle and add them. Railing is measured along the top rail.
Close is good enough. We measure on site before we write your final price.
We meter the wood before any stain goes on. Oil wants it under 13%.
Soft wash or strip and sand when the wood calls for it, priced in your range.
Samples go on your own wood, and we match HOA colors from the approved sample.
One flat price for the stain, the crew, and the cleanup.
Plus the maker covers color for up to 3 years on most products when you register it.
Licensed RBS 66117. 0% APR financing for eligible customers*.
Based on 40 Google reviews
Professional work, exceptional people, and fantastic customer service! They took a 4 yr fence that had mold and mildew in many areas and cleaned it first, then stained it a few days later. It came out lovely and we get so many compliments from neighbors!!
Adrian of Superior Stain Solutions did an outstanding job on two fences for us. One fence was brand new and only required staining while the other existing fence required it to first be washed. They both turned out excellent! We chose Barnwood stain and when it fully dried it was just the color we were looking for. Very happy with the end result.
Adrian visited our property several times before staining our new privacy fence, making sure the moisture content was appropriate for staining. He provided us with a professional assessment and quote.
Extremely professional, on time and knowledgeable. Did an amazing job from the consult to the finished fence. I highly recommend for the quality of work but also their workmanship. They were efficient and such kind gentlemen!! They recommended the pre-treat which had to be completed a few days in advance, which removed mold and also has citronella in it. This has alleviated the amount of mosquitoes in our yard! Ask about this add-on!
This company did an outstanding job staining our fence here in Greer. They showed up on time, worked efficiently, and left everything clean. They used Sherwin-Williams SuperDeck in Exotic Mahogany and the color looks amazing: rich and even across the whole fence. Couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. Highly recommend.
It was a pleasure to work with Adrian at Superior Stain Solutions to get a new, unfinished fence stained. The work was done with great attention to detail, there were zero paint splatters on the house or on the gate hardware. Fence looks great now. Very satisfied!!
Questions
Anything else, call or text 864-800-8275.
Price my projectIt uses the same numbers our estimators use in the yard, so the range is usually close. Length and wood condition are the two things people guess wrong most, so we measure and check the wood before we write it up. Your final price comes after a quick look, in writing, before we start.
Most 6 ft privacy fences run about $9 to $11 per foot for both sides with our Essential oil, and $10 to $13 per foot with EXPERT Stain & Seal. A 150 ft fence usually lands around $1,575 to $1,850. Shadowbox and board-on-board cost more because there is more wood, and grey or peeling fences add a wash or prep step.
A 12 × 16 deck with 40 ft of railing and 4 steps usually runs about $1,300 to $1,525 with EXPERT Stain & Seal. Railings and stairs add the most, because every baluster and step is stained by hand.
Usually not, once you count everything. For a 200 ft, 6 ft privacy fence on new wood, a homeowner pays about $2,705: Exotic Timber Oil at list price, an airless sprayer, brushes and drop cloths, a ruined outfit, and about 13 hours of work at $25 an hour. We stain the same fence with the same oil for about $1,800 to $2,125, with a 12-month workmanship warranty. The calculator works out the DIY math for your own fence.
They have little or no pigment, and pigment is what protects wood from the sun. The U.S. Forest Service puts the life of a clear water-repellent finish at 1 to 2 years, and even the makers recommend recoating every year. We use pigmented stains that soak in and fade slowly instead, so the next coat is a wash and a coat, not a strip job.
So we can save your answers and send you your estimate. Your answers go straight into ChalkCRM, the system we run our quotes on. We text you once when your range is ready, from 864-800-8275, and that is it unless you reply. Reply STOP any time.
The moisture check, any wash or prep you picked, the stain, cleanup, and our 12-month workmanship warranty. The stain maker covers color and sheen for up to 3 years on most of our products when you register it after the job.
Oil-based penetrating stain for new wood and anything stained with oil before, because it soaks in instead of peeling in Upstate heat and humidity. If your fence or deck already has a water-based product on it, we stay with water-based, since oil will not soak through it. The calculator picks the right one from your answers.
Only if you pick both sides. Staining just the side facing your yard costs about a third less. Both sides look finished from the street and protect the boards from both faces.
Yes. Tell us in the calculator, then bring us the approved sample or guideline. We test it on your boards before we stain the whole fence.
0% APR for up to 24 months through Wisetack for eligible customers*. You can check your options with no effect on your credit score.
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