Do you seal your end grain - you should!

        Wood is a natural product of the earth. It is either actively growing or actively deteriorating. The suns UV rays and the moisture of the outdoor environment are the 2 elements that accelerate this process. To get a reasonable life span out of your fence or deck the wood must have some type of blocker from these elements. That's what the process of sealing wood is all about.
        Lumber must be sealed at certain stages or
lumber designated for certain use must have the end grains sealed to prevent checking and splitting. The first start to the sealing process is the end sealing of the fresh cut logs. Depending on the end use of the logs they may require sealing. Anchor seal is one popular type product. If the timber logs are going immediately to the saw the ends may be left open. After sawing the wood will be dried in a kiln or stacked at the lumber yard and air dried. If the logs are to sit for any length of time then they must be sealed. This makes sure that all the available material in a log can be used for boards, that none or very little is ruined by end checking.
        The next step is when you get the lumber to your place of business or your back yard. Fences and decking materials are treated differently because of the different installations.
Fences:
        Your Fence board end grains are what wicks up the moisture from the ground or the air. End grains do this much better than the long grain section of a board. The up take and release of this moisture is what makes boards check, split, and warp. Thus ending the life of your fence. For our fencing materials the only lumber that comes with an end grain sealer already on it is Coastal Cypress. This is so it will not have to be sealed and can be left to naturally gray when installed. The other 2 types of fencing you may install is Western Red Cedar and Pressure Treated pine. The first thing we do when receive these products is to seal the end grains. This is accomplished by using a small roller dipped in the sealant, and rolled on the end grains. The end grain sealers are to be used on the end grains only, if you get any on the surface of the boards you should wipe it off asap. If the fence is to be stained we do the bottoms that will be toward the ground only. If the fence is to be left bare for any length of time we complete the top of the boards also.
Decks: 
        For decks we seal all the finish exposed ends. This is for any exposed ends on the framing boards as well as the Deck boards themselves.

Sealer:
        End grain sealers act as a dual protection product, in that they stop the excess moisture from getting into your boards, and also at the same time preventing your boards from drying out too fast and then checking and cracking on the ends. The sealer we use varies. For fences that are going to be stained, we will seal the bottom ends only with 2 coats of the sealer the customer chooses. If they are not going to be stained we use a product called Anchor seal, a wax emulsion product, and seal both top and bottom ends. For the South American species of hardwood decking products we apply IPE sealer, which is also a wax emulsion product. A melted paraffin wax is also a great product to use, and can completed at home. 

Here is a link to Video!

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TePv7LnTySc