24 October 2011

Weekending

This weekend was the first one in what seems like forever that we haven't been away or hosting guests. We took advantage of our free weekend, and the amazing weather, to paint our deck.

I believe it was June when we decided to completely refinish our deck. So finishing four months later? That's actually pretty good for us. Here's what the deck looked like before (photo taken way back in July):

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{please note the lone flower pot. I went way over the top this year with deck decor}

The black paint that had previously covered the deck had mostly peeled off. I decided I didn't want black anymore but finding a deck color that looks good on old wood + doesn't clash with the color of the bricks was harder than I expected. It took a mere seven sample bottles of stain before we found a color that was acceptable.

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N8tr0n has been working like a fiend on the deck stripping, scrubbing, treating, sanding, and finally painting (I finally helped when it was time to paint). Like every other home project, this one took us way more time, cost way more money, and was way more of a pain than we thought it would be. All that aside, we still really love home projects. And we love our pretty deck.

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Now N8tr0n and I are constantly stopping to admire our (mostly his) work. We have big plans for the fence too but there is a good chance it will be spring before you see those results.

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What do you think? Any fun, more work that you thought they would be, projects going on in your home?

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10 comments:

Nate said...

In case anyone is curious:

1 - Strip with Behr Premium Stain & Finish Stripper No. 64 (it took 2.5 gallons)

2 - Bleach with Behr Premium 2-IN-1 Wood Prep No. 63

3 - 'Quick' sanding with the random orbital sander and 60 grit paper to remove any lose material and fuzzy wood

4 - 2 coats of Behr Premium Semi-Transparent Weatherproofing Wood stain (first coat with brushes to penetrate the rough surface second coat with applicator pads to maximize coat evenness)

Behr really seems to like premium products.

Gail said...

Ha ha ha..... that was a funny question you asked!!! :)

Femme Facetious said...

That's one nice lookin' deck you got there. I'm jealous-- we have a porch but it's concrete. I always think decks look nicer! I too love home improvement projects and am sad that we are currently renting, because I am not allowed to even paint :(

Right now I am trying to figure out a way to save this very tall potted plant in my living room from being destroyed by my 9 month old. (there are no other rooms to put it in...the house itself is pretty small). I think it's going to involve making a fabric cover for the pot so she can't get into the dirt. If you have any brilliant ideas let me know :)

michelle said...

Nice! I enjoyed Nate's comment as well.

Painting my cabinets has gone from what I thought might be an intensive two week project to more of a two month project :(. I just have to keep reminding myself how great it will look when it is all done...

Hil said...

It looks gorgeous! Good work you two.

Staci said...

Looks great! I especially like that you got to choose the color of the stain - outdoor paint colors are something I've had to let go of. Since I'm married to a painter, he tends to have left overs that get used around here. BUT I won the color war with our bathroom cabinets. He swore that we could just use a spray paint, but I didn't want that bluish gray. The gray I wanted was more yellowish. We happened to have a spare drawer front to test... All I'm going to say is that sampling the color is the way to go...

Hannah said...

Goodness, gracious! That is one gorgous, dreamy deck! Great job! It looks fantastic!

Jason & Makenna said...

Mandy! Or should, I say Nate!? Great Job! It looks awesome. What a gorgeous deck. Your hard work definitely paid off.

I'm going with Michelle on the kitchen cabinets. Finished ours about three weeks ago and they were a bear! Everything I read/researched made it look so easy, quick, painless. Ha, Ha! I love them so they were worth it...if only I could get up the gusto to do the bathrooms. Ugh.

Jaime said...

Amazing!! I have a picnic table I'm aspiring to do soon...

April said...

It looks so good.

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