Last Updated on September 25, 2013 by Babita
The first project that I wanted to tackle after returning back from my vacation was to give my deck a good makeover. Let’s just say the deck makeover was overdue since last year. The deck which is pressure treated lumber is 3 and 1/2 years old and is still in a very good condition. As it is with most decks and weather elements it appeared very lackluster and dull. I, personally was very uncomfortable about the deck makeover project as I felt like I was treading on uncharted territory. However, after careful thought my husband and I decided to do it our selves.
After extensive research and consultation with the Home Depot sales associate, I decided to use the BEHR Premium all-in-one wood sealer and stainer. Since we had never used any kind of stainer on our deck before, the sales associate told use we did not need any stripping solution. He recommended that we use a good cleaning solution like Behr Premium Wood cleaner and give our deck a good scrub and hose it off.
After checking the weather for no rain, we set out to clean our deck. Check out the before picture of the deck. The deck is 8′ x 20′, so we figured it would take at least an hour and half to finish with the cleaning.
The first thing we did was use the Behr Premium All-in-One Wood Cleaner. I was naive to think that using this product my decked would be transformed. Even after scrubbing the deck with a padded brush, nothing happened. The cleaner was a total waste of money. I would not recommend it at all. IÂ feel I could have used simple soap and water with a little bit of bleach in it and would have had better results.
Anyway after we had thoroughly scrubbed and hosed it off , we had to wait for it to dry. So the next day we decided to paint the railings. I wanted to paint the railings a solid color so I chose Behr Premium Weatherproofing Wood Stain in Navajo White. Although it was a tedious process the railings look great and I am satisfied with the results
In the midst of completing this project we had to stop as it rained on Sunday. I also took the time to test out the sample of the Behr semi-transparent wood stain. Guess What? I hate the color and way it looks on the floor of the deck. So now I am thinking it is better to go with a solid stain. What do you think? Those of you who have handled a project like this what would you recommend?
I am Back from my Fabulous Vacation!
I’m a fan of leaving wood unpainted generally. But the Navajo White color works well on your railings.
The white color definitely brings in a nice accent and makes it fresh
Sorry, I have no recommendations, but, I can’t wait to see the finished project.
that deck looks so nice. i wish we had one of those…
Kudos to you on the DIY! I’m a fan of the dark wood, but not sure if that would be a solid stain or not.
Looks like you’re going to have a very nice clean deck soon! You’re doing a great job!
looking nice 😀 can’t wait to see it finished.
Will start with staining the floor of the deck tomorrow and hopefully there will be no rain.
We had gone through this project in the Spring season. We used Olympic cleaner and yes, it did clean the deck pretty well. We painted the deck the second day and it is a Olympic teak wood Stain. It looks good and even the neighbors and the friends who came over during summer complemented it. It is a lot of hard work because we had to stain it twice but we are happy with the result.
Great job on your makeover. You should be very proud!
I’m sure it is going to look great after you stain it. I can’t wait to see how it looks.
I think it looks nice. I would want something a little darker myself. We don’t have a deck so I don’t have to worry about all of that work. 😉
It looks very nice!
We need to stain our deck this year. I had thought the same thing as you, I wanted to just use soap and water to clean the deck first.
I think a solid dark stain would like nice. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.
I’ve never stained a deck before so really couldn’t give any ideas or tips on how to go about doing one. I do want to see the final result though.
I haven’t done this before, so I don’t have any advice really other than to do what you personally like best out of the options that people who are more educated on the topic can present to you. Maybe a dark brown stain?
I haven’t done it before but I say go with your gut. If you hate it you’ll likely end up redoing it anyway (or wishing that you could). 🙂
My husband would know this. I’m not sure what you would do. I know there’s things to take finish off but then you’ve got more work on your hands.
Hmmm….I think I would go with a solid stain.
Cabot is the brand my dh loves to use for outdoor wood.
I love the railings. I\\\’d go with a really dark stain for the base, it would compliment the white really well.
i think solid colour is good and also i do not really do things like this leave it up to hubby lol.
Good luck n your project – it can be such a nightmare when it decides to rain when you are trying to do something outdoors.
I’ve never hand done a deck before so not sure what advice to give about the deck color. But I love the new Railing.
The railings look great! Awesome job.
We stained our deck with a dark stain and I love it!
I am impressed that is a big job to take on. We did ours last year but had someone to do it for us. I chose a color that had a more redwood look on mine!
Looking good! Can’t wait to see the final product!
I haven’t really done anything like this before.. but I think you already did a great job – or it may be you are a perfectionist I just think it’s fine as it is right now. 🙂
Your deck cleaned up very nice. We just did ours again this year. I wish it would last more than a year or two.