Deck Stain and Painting

Over the Labor Day weekend we managed to get a few things done to our house.

Much needed and long overdue was sealing the deck we had added last summer. I bought two gallons of Cabot Sun Drenched Gold exterior stain around the end of June with plans to use it fairly quickly. But the heat and humidity this summer was oppressive and prevented me from doing much of anything. It wasn’t until Labor Day weekend that the temperature finally dropped enough with no rain in the forecast to get it done.

Before.

I started by washing the deck with a bottle of deck wash attached to a regular garden hose. We had a bad stain on the corner where grease had dripped from the grill but between the wash and a wire brush it made it barely noticeable. From there we applied the first coat on Monday afternoon using a brush to do the edges and trim and a roller brush on a stick for the rest. Within a few hours it was dry enough to walk on but still a bit sticky. When I got home Tuesday afternoon I applied the second coat to finish the job. The next day we got some completely unexpected heavy rain but thankfully the coating was dry enough at that point that it didn't seem to affect it. There are however a few spots I still need to sand down a bit where the roller applied the second coat a little too thick. Overall we were really pleased with the result.

After.

The other project we completed was to paint the front wall where the front door is to match the accent walls in the living and morning rooms. While we generally like the color of the color Ryan Homes used on the walls the contractor grade flat paint shows every little smudge and bit of dirt. After two and a half years the front wall wasn't looking too great and needed a touch up.

Before.

After.

Close up of the sign Jenny made for the wall. 

To make the sign She took a basic 12 x 12 canvas panel from Michael's, applied a gel wood stain, and then printed out a vinyl decal with her Silhouette Cameo cutter.