Summer Project #2: the deck

Our deck was built in 2011. We've loved it and we use it all the time! The last time we sanded and stained it was 2012, and it badly needed to be done again! However, neither Josh nor I enjoys the task of sanding that's so essential to do before staining. 

Our friends the Oliverson's used a product on their deck last summer that they raved about--they said it didn't need to be sanded beforehand, and it seals the wood for 10 years. It sounded like just what we wanted! At the end of June, I purchased a giant 5 gallon container of it at Home Depot (it's called DeckOver). The instructions were very particular washing the wood beforehand, the size of roller brush to use, certain weather conditions to apply the product in, and specific amounts of drying time. I wanted to make sure I followed all the instructions, since this was a new product that neither Josh nor I had used before. 

So, when I had time, and the weather was right at the beginning of July, I cleared all the furniture off the deck, washed it all down (including scrubbing off all the bird poop), and waited 24 hours for it to dry before applying the first layer of coating. However, when I went out to get started the next morning, I noticed that Josh had moved the sprinklers when he left for work early that morning, and it was spraying the stairs to the deck. I was infuriated, and knew that I'd have to wait another day to start the task--which would then interfere with guests coming for the July 4th holiday. After I cussed him out, and he apologized (He said when he left to go to work, the water wasn't touching the deck. The water comes from a pump and it can surge and increase pressure or drop pressure consistently, so I realized it totally wasn't all his fault after talking to him.), I decided to work on minor tasks associated with the deck instead, as I was gung-ho ready for a project day already. 

I took some larger nails, and started poking all the dirt, leaves, and build-up that was in the cracks between the boards until everything was totally cleared out. It was a rather tedious task, but I'm glad I did it prior to putting the thick coating on--as it would've stuck to some of the gunk in between the cracks, and the deck wouldn't have had proper drainage anymore. Also, there was some water damage along the base of the house that borders the deck because of a broken gutter we've had and excess water leakage had occurred, peeling away the paint on the house in several spots. I pulled off all the peeling paint, sanded some of the base surface, and repainted two coats onto the damaged areas. I also trimmed up the bushes and trees along the northern border of the deck so that when I did paint the coating on, the leaves wouldn't interfere or get stuck to the freshly painted deck and railing. By the time Josh got home from work that afternoon, I was a lot less mad--working seems to help my mind focus and de-stress! 

So, the following morning, I started the task of putting the new coating on. It was super thick, and very time-consuming. And I was sick to my stomach once the coating started to dry. I thought it would be a lot darker, and so did Josh. When we bought the tub of coating, we thought it would match the picture on the can, but it didn't. Instead, it matched a little tiny rectangle at the base that showed the color of the coating. It wasn't at all the color we'd envisioned or wanted--it was a very light gray color, not a rustic brown like we'd been wanting. I didn't know what to do--the 5 gallon containers aren't sold locally, and it was $175 for the bucket, and since it had already been opened, we couldn't just take it back. I continued to finish the entire surface (what else was I to do?), which took me about 4 hours. It requires two coatings with 4 hours of drying time in between, so about the time I finished the first coating, I started on the second coating. Thankfully, by this time, Josh was done with work and had come home, and he started helping me. By then, the heat of the afternoon sun was directly upon us, and the directions specifically say NOT to apply it in direct sunlight. It dried SO quickly, and was so thick to put on, that it was difficult to apply it before the paint dried up in the tub that we dipped our rollerbrushes in. We had enough left over after both coatings on the deck to apply some to the handrailings and steps, too. We let it dry all night, and then moved the furniture back on the following morning. It was hard to get used to the sight of the lighter deck at first, but we're adjusted to it now, and we don't mind it so much. We're just glad we don't have to apply any stain or sealing coatings to the deck for hopefully another 10 years!! 

The deck before we began this project--it was way overdue for a new staining. The
railings held the stain nicely, but all the surfaces that are flat (the floor and the top
of the hand railing) were very weathered after so many years of being untreated.

The picture on the tub (ON THE LEFT)
is the color we thought we were getting.
The little rectangle (ON THE BOTTOM)
is the actual color. It's rather
misleading, don't you think?!

See the difference between the old stained wood (ON THE LEFT)
versus the newly coated woo (ON THE RIGHT). It was SO much lighter!

We had to block off the steps so the animals
and kids wouldn't make tracks in the wet coating.
The cat still managed to get on the deck, but
since it's so lightweight, no damage was done.

Letting it dry all night

The end result!