Sunday, August 15, 2010

Deck TLC

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The surface boards on our deck used to be so rotten that when I left for work my heels used to get stuck in the wood. Luckily I never landed on my face, but it was a distinct possibility. 


As a result, Kevin and I tore up our patio last year. The frame looked great so we left it intact and replaced the surface boards with gorgeous mahogany decking. Yes, mahogany. It was important to Kevin so we splurged. I will blog more on this process in a bit, but for now, I am going to take you through the deck project we did this weekend. Trim painting and deck staining! Yesssss!


This weekend started out with a nice little Saturday and by this I mean a trip to Home Depot. To complete this project, we used the following materials:


Deck staining
  • Broom
  • Screwdriver
  • Wet/dry vac 
  • Hand brush
  • Bucket of soapy water
  • Old torn up shirts
  • Knee pads
  • Cabot Australian Timber oil stain in Mahogany Flame


Deck trim
  • Behr paint + primer in one. Exterior paint in satin finish. Color matched to Benjamin Moore's Mayonnaise (my favorite trim color used in several places throughout the house).
  • Electric palm sander
  • 100 grit sandpaper (1 sheet)
  • 2" paintbrush. Nice quality.
  • Safety goggles
  • Face mask
  • Earplugs

Other helpful items
  • 50 SPF sunscreen
  • Water
  • Sweet tunes - I am loving Pandora
  • A sunny and breezy weekend with temps in the mid-80s
After we gathered all supplies, it was time for lunch! So after lunch, we got to work. Some before pictures...




Staining the deck 
  1. Sweep the deck with a broom
  2. Clean between the deck boards with a screwdriver and wet/dry vac
  3. Brush between the deck boards with a hand brush (this may not be necessary, but we don't mess around!)
  4. Hand wash the deck boards with soapy water
  5. Rinse the deck
  6. Gently sand any blemishes (it is easier to see true blemishes after the boards are clean)
  7. Apply the stain with an old t-shirt and wipe off
Cleaning between the boards.

Brushing between the boards.

Hand washing the deck boards.


Staining the deck.

 A little contrast with and without stain.


Painting the deck trim
  1. Assess trim boards. If clean and decent, you probably do not need to sand. If they look anything like the ones below, you should consider sanding.
  2. Use the electric hand sander and 100 grit sand paper to sand the areas to be painted. Be sure to use the appropriate safety measures like a face mask, goggles and ear plugs.
  3. Wash the boards with soapy water and let dry
  4. Paint the boards. You will likely need 2 coats.
Before sanding.

After sanding. 


Carefully painting.


The stained deck after.


Close-up after.


If I were to do this over again, I would probably use wood filler on the trim boards where it needed it prior to painting. Overall, it was a pretty easy peasy project. Painting the trim took about 5 hours from start to finish once I had all supplies. It cost $35 for the gallon of paint which I used about 1/8 of. 

Staining the deck took the same 5 hours on Saturday for prep only plus about 5 hours on Sunday to stain. The cost was $30 for the gallon of stain which we used about half of. Our deck is 16 ft. by 13 ft. to give you an idea how long it may take you! 

My Sunday morning was spent at my favorite flea market, Todd Farm. Stay tuned for my tips on flea market shopping and my best finds to date! Cheers.

When shopping for our deck materials, we had a tough time deciding between real wood and composite. Please weigh in below on your preference.








1 comment:

  1. Eeek, your deck looks great! I love mahogany in general, and I love what a beautiful deck it made. I'm pretty sure you'll want to keep it looking as great as it does for as long as possible, and one way to do that is to make sure that it's always clean. It's exposed to the elements, after all, so regular cleaning would definitely do it good.

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