Decks require maintenance (duh), especially if you’re not blessed to have Trex, some other synthetic wood product, or a delightfully tough type of wood. So here we are, once again, about 4.5 years later, dealing with the deck. The previous “stain”, which was really more of a paint, had begun to peel after just 2 years, chances are due to a nice cocktail of harsh Pennsylvania weather, poodle pee, and inadequate preparation. However, I’m pleased to report that after loads of labor on my wonderful husband’s part, the deck has a fresh new deck that brings along happy, fresh beach vibes. I’ll go through some of the process below, but know that I started with the before/after pic because that is truly the high that everyone is here for.
Steps
- Home Depot for Supplies: Stiff Push Brush, Simple Green, Bucket, Paint Brushes, Rollers, Stain Remover, Etc.
- Watch the weather forecast like a hawk in an attempt to get 5 solid days of no-rain in Pittsburgh, PA (Yeah RIGHT).
- Borrow a friend’s pressure washer.
- Treat Deck with Stain Remover and Let Sit (We followed the directions, but alas–it was not nearly as strong as it claimed to be.
5. Sand, Sand Sand – This step took a LOT of time. Multiple days technically via a belt sander. The sander, which was a hand-me-down and pretty old, croaked eventually. Cue another trip to the hardware store…
6. Sand more.
7. FINALLY time for the stain. We used Sherwin Williams Superdeck Semi-Transparent tinted with “Blue Spruce”. I’ll admit that we were both a bit surprised (and initially disappointed) because it certainly didn’t look very transparent and seemed like paint. However, it has grown on us. It has rained a few times and the water beads pretty well.
8. Another coat or two of stain.
9. Realize that the deck railings look dirty compared to the new stain. Decide to pain those white (several coats later, they are beautiful).
10. Furniture is back on–now we can enjoy for hopefully a few years before tackling this yet again.
Operation 1302 