Rooftop & Balcony Deck Restoration Wash, Sand & Stain in Chicago, IL

A two-tier rooftop and balcony setup in Chicago puts a lot of surface area in direct contact with the sky — no tree cover, no overhang, just open exposure through every season the city throws at it. This property's 1,345 square feet of pressure-treated pine had accumulated enough built-up coating over the years that a standard maintenance sand wasn't going to cut it. The rooftop deck alone covered 1,225 square feet, with privacy wall interiors included in the scope, and a 120-square-foot balcony below rounding out the project. Six boards across the deck floor had deteriorated past the point of refinishing and needed to come out — four identified in the initial scope, two more approved by the client once we got into the work.

We started with a thorough power wash to clear the surface of dirt and weathered material, then moved into heavy mechanical sanding on all accessible horizontal surfaces, including the stair treads. Multiple passes were needed in spots where the old coating had built up thick, and we followed the machine work with edge sanding, hand sanding, and scraping wherever the larger equipment couldn't reach — along the base of the privacy walls, in the corners, and around the board replacements. The six treated pine boards went in flush, and once the full surface was clean and open, we applied one coat of Benjamin Moore solid WoodLuxe in Oxford Brown, working the privacy wall interiors and the balcony floor to the same standard as the main deck. The client took the check payment discount on labor, and we confirmed the 18-month inspection window before wrapping the job.