Edit: This is one of my most popular posts, with tons of visitors every day (thank you!) So I just want to say up front that, I really love Behr interior paints, and it’s a hard decision to share an review of a product or service that’s not fully positive. But I will always share my honest opinions of a product. I shared my experience in hopes that it will be helpful for you as you research this huge project! And, I’ve edited this post a bit from the original to answer some FAQs that I’ve received.
Update: May 20, 2020- Tons of questions about how we fixed our deck! Here’s the post. I’m going to tell you, there’s not magic formula- it involves a lot of peeling and re-staining- but check it out if you want more details!
It’s getting close to spring and the time when we usually start planning our outdoor projects. This time last year, we were researching what kind of paint covering to put on our deck and covered porch, and chose Behr DeckOver. We used it on our wood deck, which is high traffic and exposed to the elements, our covered front porch, and our front concrete steps. I wanted to share my honest review of Behr DeckOver to hopefully help anyone who might be considering this product for their big spring project.
Prep
First, a little background. If you read the reviews online at sites like Home Depot, the folks who give it a positive review seem to assume that the negative reviewers didn’t do the prep work. We did do the prep work because I was really worried that ours wouldn’t turn out well. We prepped as instructed. I didn’t take pictures then because I wasn’t blogging, and what non-blogger takes pictures of hard labor? But we cleaned the deck with Wood Cleaner and sanded some spots that were really rough. We did not pressure wash, because we heard that the force of the water could trap moisture in the wood and under the coating and cause problem later on.
Someone left a question once questioning our application and prep techniques because the cracks that are left look like we didn’t prep or apply well. I can’t stress enough that we prepped and applied exactly as instructed. Any peeling that resulted in the deck are a result of the DeckOver and aren’t because of prep or application because we followed instructions exactly.
I only mention that not to sound defensive, but because this is a time consuming, expensive project, or at least it is in our world, and I want you to know what you are getting into.
The Good News
Okay, first the good news for both. It made an immediate positive difference. Both the back deck, which structurally was fine, but had a lot of cracks and weathered areas, and the front porch, which was just “blah”, looked beautiful once they were done. The Behr DeckOver filled the cracks in the deck, but didn’t hide the character of the front porch, which was painted hardwood. We were initially really happy with it.
Behr DeckOver on the Deck
The back deck has not held up well at all. It is very high traffic, primarily how we enter and exit the house. It is also very exposed to the elements. Georgia weather is not forgiving, and the sun is brutal on this deck. The black shows dirt, so we washed the deck pretty frequently. Now, the paint is literally peeling up from the deck in sheets:
And you can see where it has worn from the treads on the steps:
The railings are doing much better, but even here, there are a few spots where the paint is coming off:
But overall the railings are doing okay:
Maybe we brought this on ourselves by cleaning the deck so much? We hose it down probably 3-4 times a week, but it’s not like we’re pressure washing.
Behr DeckOver on the Front Porch
Now, the good news. Our covered front porch, which gets much less traffic, still looks brand new! (Don’t judge the front porch- it’s still February!) 🙂
Here are the concrete steps leading to the front porch. The paint on here is still perfect:
The railing- still no issues:
And the porch floor. You can see, obviously, that the light color shows dirt, so like the back deck, I do have to hose this down occasionally, but haven’t had any of the issues that we’ve had on the back. Also, I really like that you can still see the grain of the wood through the DeckOver, but it still covered the rough areas. Really, the front porch area looks fantastic. And it did not look fantastic before the Behr DeckOver.
Oh, we also had to replace some of the fascia of the house, which had some areas in bad shape, and we painted those in the DeckOver as well. All of the fascia is still in perfect condition.
My verdict? If you are using the Behr DeckOver for a weather protected, low traffic area, it will immediately make it look beautiful, and it will be much more likely to last. I wouldn’t recommend it for a high traffic, weather exposed deck.
Edit, 1 and 1/2 years later: the front porch is still holding up well, although there are some areas that are a little more weather exposed that are starting to fade- but it still looks great! The concrete steps, railing, and fascia still look brand new! The back deck still continues to badly peel- we are covering it with a large rug and sanding and touching up the exposed areas until we can figure out a longer term solution.
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i redid my deck with deckover last year, i washed , sanded, washed again , applied the deckover n it was really beautifull when it was done , but after this winter it was all peeling n i was not very happy but i contacted the company n they sent me 2 gals of deck over n wood cleaner to redo it again this year, but if it’s only gonna last 1 year at a time i will go buy resin boards n redo that way , i do love behr paint, i always use it inside n used on my railings on deck which are still nice but we’ll see what happens this time .
Hi Joan, thank you so much for stopping by! I have always loved Behr paint too so we were really disappointed with how the deck turned out. I’m glad to hear that Behr was willing to replace the paint though- maybe another coat will do the trick? Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
My husband insisted on Behr deck over three years ago. He has since passed away and I am left with a mess. We prepared the deck as instructed, paid someone a 500.00 to do the work for. I am so unhappy with it it is giving me anxiety. It’s a large deck with spindles so removing the paint will be a horrendous mess. I don’t know how Behr gets away with the false advertising of this product. I’m even thinking of trying outdoor carpet to cover it as much as that pains me. Don’t know what to do!!!! Any suggestions???
Linda, first I am so sorry for the loss of your husband.
As far as what to do with your deck, honestly we haven’t figured it out yet. Ours is still a mess. It’s still peeling away in sheets. Last fall, we bought a large outdoor vinyl area rug that covered a lot of it, and the rest we touched up with paint, but it only lasts for a few weeks before the areas we’ve touched up peels up again. We’re also thinking about an outdoor carpet or even faux grass. I’d love to tear it down, but Michael (my husband) is pretty set on keeping it and trying to figure out a solution. Like you, we’re in for a long road to fix it though. I’m planning to reach out to Behr to see if they have any answers, and I’ll get in touch with you with their response.
Considering using deck over around our pool and have been reading reviews from many who have used the product. Any insight on whether this would be a good solution. The pool is partially in full sun and partially shaded in the heat of the day? Would also like to know if it’s slippery when wet.
Hi Jana! I think it would depend on the surface you are using it on. If it is on a wood deck surround, as you can see, our wood deck has not held up well at all. It is still peeling really badly. If the pool surround is concrete, we used the Deck Over in black on our concert steps on our front porch, and they are doing great! Not slippery at all, and they still look perfect, now around 2 years later. They get full sun pretty much all day long. I could not recommend it for wood, but would highly recommend it for concrete. Does that help? Good luck with your project!
Do NOT use on a wooden pool deck. We did (followed all instructions) and have an utter mess on our hands now. Trying to figure out what to do.
Oh no! I’m sorry this happened ☹️
I must admit that I am totally dissatisfied with this Deck Over. I too had my back deck painted last year and it looked absolutely beautiful. The deck is not covered, is hardly ever used, and when it does it is just me sitting out and reading in the morning. It does get direct sunlight most of the day as it is Southeastern exposure. I live in Kentucky and we do get rather crazy weather here and this past winter was no exception. This spring I have noticed that the deck is starting to peel and I am not a happy camper. I paid a very reputable man to do the deck and he followed the directions exactly from beginning to end. There were absolutely no steps skipped and was not the fault, in any way, of painter. I have been alone for 3 years and am no spring chicken anymore so I am trying to keep up my home on my own. I am retired and money is not flowing as it used to and so I really feel that spending all the money I did for the paint, accessories, and the hired painter was a total waste. It did look great for the first year but I cannot continue to redo the deck every season. Is there some sort of sealant that might work? I have always used Baer paint for my interior and love the results and the quality of the paint. This, on the other hand, has been very disappointing and now I am just going to have to live with it.
Hi Irene, thank you for writing in, and I’m sorry that you are having to deal with this! Honestly I am not sure if a sealant would work or not, but from the research I have done, a sealant over any deck stain is not recommended . Maybe talk with the gentleman who painted your deck and see what he says? He may have a suggestion that would work that would prevent further peeling, but we have not found a solution unfortunately.
Thank you so much for responding to my comment. I did speak to him about it and he says that he does not think that a sealant is a good idea either. Guess I am just going to have to deal with it. He says he is worried because he has other clients that are having the same issue and are blaming him for the problems. I gave him your website so that he could refer them to the issues addressed there. Again, thanks for the response and please let me know if you hear anything from Behr as I have sent them correspondence but have yet to hear from them.
Yes ma’am, I sure will, and I hope you find a solution!
Hello Beth I’ve been in the painting business for 20 yrs , I’ve done over 1 thousand decks ! The main issues with decks are prep , then applying 2 thin even coats of paint letting them dry several hours even the next day is better ! I have a question do you know if these decks were pressure treated wood ? The second question is did these decks after a rain storm have standing water left on them ?
Personally I’ve always done decks that haven’t been treated with a semi trans parent oil , it seals the deck and you’ll get many more yrs from it. Also using the right nap on your roller cage makes a huge difference in how long your deck will last!
This is the reply from Behr after complaining about the Deck Over. I am supposed to first scrape, then clean, then redo with a stain. Ridiculous. What is worse is they want my receipt from over a year ago. The painter used all the paint so I do not have a can or lid and just telling them that I used this color and bought this many gallons is not enough proof for them. Very disappointed in their response. I did not expect a refund but I did not expect to be told to do it over with something else. So read on and see their answer to their inferior product.
I understand your disappointment in the DeckOver’s performance, especially now that it’s only been a year and it’s peeling. We’d like for our customers to have the best possible outcomes when using our products. So, it’ll be a pleasure to help out.
If you’re not comfortable with recoating with the DeckOver, there’s always the Solid Stain; it covers 200-400 square feet per gallon, has an easier application, and it has a performance guarantee of up to 10 years! This product can also coat over the DeckOver once the loose coating has been removed. And I’ll attach a solution tip-sheet on this if you’re interested.
Also, I can look into shipping the Solid Stain to you; at no additional cost. If this were to be okay, I would only need the following:
List proof of purchase (e.g., receipt, can, lids)
Color name/ ID (or select a new color)
No. of gallons purchased
Irene, thank you for the update! I am sorry that their response was so disappointing! I wish that there was a quick and easy solution to this.
We are having the same problem with our decks and it has only been about 18 month since it was applied. Our decks face north and rarely get used. It is peeling off in many areas and it seems even the wood is deteriorating. I appreciate all the feedback from everyone. We aren’t sure what to do at this point!
Barb, I’m sorry for your trouble with this! We had a couple of deteriorating areas as well, I believe because water becomes trapped under the paint. Luckily our deck is overall still in good condition, probably because it’s peeled so much and so quickly that water didn’t have long to become trapped under the paint.
Do ‘t do it like that…at best, that remedy of relying on solid stain to cover over the remaining Deckover spots will leave you with a blotchy looking mess. Spend the extra $ and sand off all residual Deckover, then clean the surface, let thoroughly dry (cover with a tarp if necessary to keep rain off, then apply a really good quality oil based stain. Remember this when prepping a deck: It’s a lot like what they say aboit making chicken salad…and the ensuing expectations.
Thanks for your input. I’m sure what you suggest is the best way to handle this. However, it’s not easy to just “spend the extra $” for a lot of people, including us- budget is a real thing. I think what is so especially disappointing to those of us who have used this product is that we did prep appropriately, which took a lot of time and money, and still had this terrible result.
Hi, I want to let others know that our Behr DeckOver project failed too. My husband is a contractor and a very good one at that. Of course, he followed all prep etc. At first, it looked great, but after only 1 year, the paint was coming off the deck boards in sheets. This is now the following year and of course, it’s even worse. Last fall, I couldn’t leaf blow the deck (or even near it) because the paint would shred and fly off in strips. We used DeckOver on our rear deck, front deck and the steps. It failed in all cases. It’s so bad that chips of it stick to one’s shoes (even if it’s dry outside) and then the chips…big, small, tiny or whatever…end up all over the house. I’m constantly cleaning them up. We’ve had to look at and deal with this terrible mess for 2 years. So now, here we are with a huge project to do over. My husband started power washing last night and that removed all but about 10% of the paint. (Note: It took about 5 hours, just for the back deck and that doesn’t include the clean up.) This morning, for the remaining paint, he tried paint remover/stripper, but it isn’t working at all. So possibly we may attempt sanding, but my husband says more than likely that would just gunk up a sander. So honestly, we’re not sure how this will end up. Finally, factoring in the cost of the product, the labor cost of the initial project and now the cost to remove, including products and labor, the cost to refinish everything, again products and labor, I’d estimated $7,500=$8,000 based on the size of our project. We don’t have the actual hard labor cost, but do have all the lost time associated with having to repair this mess ourselves. I’m not sure if they even still sell this awful product, but if they do, please think twice before using it.
Hi Dianna, I’m sorry that this happened to you! We just moved, but prior to moving wanted to get the deck in good shape for the new owners, so we removed most of the DeckOver. Like you, we power washed, but ours was in such poor shape that probably 50% of the remaining paint came right off. We got down on our hands and knees and just pulled up the rest- it was so poorly adhered that we were able to just use our hands to pull it up in sheets. There were a few places that the paint was stuck on, and we sanded, which didn’t remove it all but did thin it down. We then stained the deck using regular deck stain (ebony, which matched the DeckOver). It doesn’t look perfect but it is much better than it was.
I to used deck over last year on my back deck and very disappointed one year later all peeling, I also did all the prep work horrible paint. Will never use again. waste of money.
Kathy, I’m sorry this happened to you! I wish there was a good solution!
I read the article and Adobe of the comments. I to had an issue with A different Behr product…HOWEVER I called Behr and shared indignation about the problem. Once they understood…they offered a suggestion. Which to date dived the problem. So I would contact them..speak with a knowledgeable person…and I’m sure they will assertive at a solution.
Geez..spell check took over in my reply. So it doesn’t make sense.. Basically speak with a person at Behr and I’m sure they will arrive at a solution
Thanks Lee! I’m so glad they were able to help! Thank you for the info!
We too are on a situation where we used the textured deck over and it, after only one winter is peeling in large sections. I plan to contact Behr. They hopefully will rectify the mess their inferior product has caused.
Lyn, I’m sorry you are in this situation! I hope Behr will make this right with you. Let us know what you find out.
I am using Behr deck over on a concrete porch. I applied the first coat. 24 hr after the first coat was applied it was rained on. With no evidence of damage. Rain is in the forecast for the next week. How long should I wait to apply the second coat?
Hi Larry, thanks for stopping by. Honestly, I don’t know the answer to that question. I wish I could help, but especially since people seem to have mixed results with this product, I think it would be best for you to contact Behr to see what they say. Best of luck to you!
We painted with deckover. Now I would like to clean the deck. I have scrubbed, power washed, soap water, beer all in one and still it looks dirty and dusty.
This stuff is a mess.
Did you ever find a way to clean the deck? I painted a month ago and it is a dirty mess and I don’t know why. Not even pressure washing can clean it.
I am a painting contractor and I used deck over on my own decks before I would useing it on others. I followed standard procedures and like the rest I’ve read about one, year later with no traffic on the deck it was peeling. My railing are made of cedar and I painted them with deck over, after a years time I noticed areas on the railing that were soft to the touch, the paint pulled off easily and I found the cedar was soaked and rotting. It appears that deck over absorbs water rather then shed. In all I would not recommend deck over for any project.
We had a beautiful deck biult had a paint contractor come in and stained it nice job lasted for six years but as we all know nothing last for ever so we decided to use the deck over oh approx five years ago we’ll it’s Ben nothing but a battle to this day horrible product so we have to clean and sand repainted every year it just sucks my next move is to hire a paint restoration wood pros sounds like echo blast mite work but quite expensive I will sty in touch to let you deck over users how we make out with this horrible mess 5 31 20
Hi Ed, thank you for stopping by, and I’m sorry you’ve had to go through this! It sounds like a mess 🙁 I hope the wood restoration professional is able to help you out! Keep us updated!
After spending hours upon hours painting my deck with Deck-Over paint by hand because it was too thick to roll and that within a year came off in long strips I finally gave up and decided to get a new deck. Went with the Azek versus the trek as more durable although more expensive should last forever. When my contractor took down my old deck top boards he was amazed at how water logged the wood was. This paint made the wood retain water and was rotting from the inside out. A board that should have weighted 20 lbs weighed 50 lbs as it was water logged. Go a different route and DO NOT USE DECK-OVER paint. You will be sorry! The good thing is there was a class action lawsuit and because I called Behr and complained about the paint peeling (they sent me new cans of paint) they had me in their data base and I was notified of the lawsuit. It is closed now and I am waiting to see how much I get from them. Supposed to also be reimbursed for the initial cans of paint I bought. Won’t be alot because it has a cap at 4.00 per foot but at this point anything will help with the cost of the new deck.
Ugh! My husband and I put in a new deck 3 years ago. We let the wood season for a year and then the following summer we cleaned the deck perfectly with the Behr deck cleaner. We knew going in we needed to do an excellent job with the cleaner.
After a year the deck started peeling in spots. Now, two years later, it’s bubbling and peeling off in large sheets. So disappointing after spending all the $$ and time on this project. And now we are trying to sell our home so it’s a concern.
Deckover is a dismal failure. As others state, it looked great initially. It did a great job of filling in the cracks, crevices and evening out deck boards. It simply doesn’t weather well. It peels and there are bare spots on high traffic areas. I am a Stager and feel terrible that I have recommended this product to many of my clients. It probably did help them get there house sold but is bad news for the new owners.
Im really surprised by all the bad experiences. We used deck over for our deck. Lots of use…including big dogs with nails. In Ohio where weather can be 98 and sunny or full on blizzard. We had record low temps of -14 for over two weeks in winter after record high snow fall. We literally had iceburgs on our deck. It held up and was beautiful for 3 years. HOWEVER we DID power wash prior to application. Maybe it made all the difference?