Painting the Deck

Our deck off the dining room has not been stained or painted for over five years, and it was getting very shabby-looking.  So, last week, I cleared all of the deck furniture and plants off and transferred them into the back yard for a brief hiatus.

The first step in deck re-finishing is to thoroughly clean and dry the deck.  I got a good eco-friendly wood cleaner at Home Depot, and spread it on the deck, let it sit for 10 minutes, and then scrubbed it off with a deck brush.  Repeating this process twice worked beautifully, and the wood was clean and ready for the deck cover stain after 24 hours in the 75-degree weather.

The deck paint went on smoothly with a roller, and a second coat was applied after 24 hours.  We also painted the deck rails Cape Code Gray to go with the house and deck paint.

We re-positioned the deck furniture, and moved all other items previously on the deck to new locations.  Now, it looks clean and uncluttered, and ready for summer fun!