The Deck Project

Ever since we bought our house the deck has needed some attention.  The previous owners did a horrible job staining it and it looked awful.  It had become warn and needed to be re-sealed and stained.  We talked about hiring someone because we knew it was going to be such a big job.  We needed to save some money and we knew that if we put some serious work into it we could do it ourselves.  Here is what the main part of the deck looked like before. 

 We started about 3 weeks ago power washing it.  We borrowed the power washer from some friends, we are so thankful we did.  Renting one would have cost us a fortune!  We wanted to see how much of the old stain we could get off.  We could tell that it was going to take a long time.  With some effort we could tell that the old stain would eventually come off.   

 We were excited to see how nice the wood looked underneath the stain.

JJ put in some serious hours power washing.  He spent several days and lots of hours in the evenings when he would come home from work.  It was so tedious to get in between all the spindles. The water would shoot back at him and he would come in soaked!  Almost half way through the hose to the power washer got a crack in it.  We had to get a new hose.  We were having a hard time finding the proper connection piece to the handle and spend a whole evening trying to track one down.  It was so frustrating.  Finally we bought a whole new attachment to it.  We could have ordered the connector piece but we didn't want to wait for it to come in.  It was a hassle!  The people we borrowed it from felt bad and knew that it could have happened at anytime.  They now joke that we own half the power washer.  You can see the bottom of the stairs how big of a difference it was making.  

 

The top part of the deck power washed

The stairs partially done with power washing 

 Then came sanding, we again worked on this step for a few days.  Power washing really splintered the wood in a few areas.  It definitely took its toll on the wood and some spots needed a lot of sanding.  I would blow my nose and have dust in my snot from sanding.  We got some masks to wear so we didn't breathe in so much sawdust.  I was glad I could help more with this part.  I did all the little parts by hand, the spindles and railings.  I was able to come out during nap time and work little by little.  JJ did the big surface with the power sander.     

 After sanding.  We were very pleased by how much of the old stain we were able to get up.  It wasn't perfect but it was tons and tons better.  We loved the way it was looking already!

We were now on the final step, re-staining and sealing it.  We went back on forth on which stain to go with.  We both loved how natural and clean the wood looked.  We didn't want to have it look so worn again if we went with a dark stain.  Although we would be using a completely different product.  We both agreed that it needed some color to hide what stain we weren't able to get off.  We went with the most natural color you can, the first step up from clear.  Staining was another very long process.  So many spindles!!  The wood really soaked up the stain and we used more then we thought we would.  JJ and I worked a lot of long hours on the deck.  JJ came home from work and put in a couple hours a few evenings.  He would turn on the back flood lights and work on the parts he could see even when it was dark.  I worked almost all day one day putting in about 5 hours.  JJ then again put in another long evening.  We should have finished it last week but it needs 24 hours before any rain is forecasted and we didn't want to chance it getting ruined.  

 It looks so dark going on by dries a completely different color.

 

We are so glad we went with a little color in the stain.  It brings out the wood grain and hides just enough of the stain left over.

Such a transformation! Seriously it looks like a different deck.

We are so happy that this project is over and so pleased with how it turned out.  The deck looks so nice now!  Since we saved money by doing it ourselves we decided to buy a nice outdoor rug.  It is really nice to have and makes it more inviting for Nolan.  He loves to go out there and play on the deck and the rug is a much nicer surface.  We also bought a nice outdoor gate for the top of the stairs.  Even though Nolan knows how to go down stairs we don't want to take any chances.