A Hard Working Weekend!

Come Monday morning, my fingers are stiff, I have a water blister in the middle of my right palm, a sore finger from a removed splinter, and a slightly disgruntled husband. All signs of a manual labor weekend.
Ok, so Dear Husband (DH) was only grumpy for a little bit (and for good reason), because I accidentally worked us through lunch time on Saturday. Ooops, sorry honey!

So what were we doing you may ask? This weekend was all about the back deck. We have never been deck owners before, so I had to do quite a bit of research.

Deck Stats:
- Med size (300 sq ft?) enough for a decent table with chairs (coming soon) and a grill area.
- Natural wood, unpainted, could be stained a natural color but not really sure.
- Some sort of hardwood, cedar I am thinking?
- Set too low below the ground level: prevents critters and weeds but also traps airflow and moisture.
- Boards have warped and now hold standing water, but they aren't too splintered.
- Decent condition, but not good or bad.

Here are some "before" pictures, where we have cleared everything off and dug out the base a little so we can clean below the soil line. Please notice DH gallantly reading the directions on the box of cleaner. My hero!

Please note: always wear protective gear and old clothes you don't mind ruining.


First, we cleaned the deck: We used a TSP cleaner which cleans surfaces in prep of painting. It comes in a powder form that you mix and it is really pretty inexpensive. We just splashed it on then scrubbed the rails with a brush and the deck with a push broom. Rinse, but don't repeat.

Next we "brightened" the deck: You know how over time your deck turns kind of grey? Well that is from the sun's UV rays and you can buy a "brightener" which is a kind of gentle acid. We sprayed it on with a pump-sprayer, the kind you usually use on weeds. Once again scrub, rinse, but don't repeat. Honestly, this didn't make as much of a difference as I was expecting, but our deck wasn't very grey to start out with.

Then you wait... well, you are supposed to wait for 48 hours for the deck to completely dry, but ours faces South and it was pretty warm, so we applied the sealer 36 hours after washing. (Shame, shame I know.) Here is Eva trying to wait patiently.

Sealer: Think of this as waterproof sunscreen for your deck. It reflects the UV rays so you don't get that graying as quick, and it repels water so the boards don't split, splinter or warp... well, warp even more in our case. But just like sunscreen, you will have to re-apply. The manufacturer says it lasts 1-2 years, but talking to the lady at the store, it sounds like you should probably apply it every year. Realistic? No. We applied it because we just bought the house, we don't know how well the deck was taken care of before, and don't have kids taking up all our time.

The first can of sealer sprayed on great! It was going so smooth, I should have sprayed the rails... but the second can of sealer must have been from an old batch. It was thicker and kind of gloppy at the bottom. Didn't spray on nearly as well and we had to brush over it to spread it out.
Anyway, the finished product looks pretty good if I do say so myself.

Oh, and look, our deck furniture showed up today!