I have a 27 X 10 feet open balcony.
I replaced the Plywood floor it had with 3/4 Plywood which I used as sub floor and covered it with different lengths (from 12 in to 32 in) of 2 by 4 studs.
I sealed the seams of the plywood with silicone and painted the plywood for protection with exterior paint. I sealed the gaps in the studs with silicone and coated them with wood stain.
I live in the desert and the heat shrank the silicone and created a big water mess when the rains came as water seeped through the studs and plywood.
What is the best way to waterproof at least the studs and cover the gaps between them to prevent leakage without having to remove the wood stain? There are places where the gaps between studs are about 1/8 inches.
In case you are wondering why I used 2 by 4 studs as the floor: I got them at a closeout and thought they would look nice.