Monday, July 29, 2013

Refinishing Our Deck

Oh, the trials and tribulations of doing a diy project. 

Ok, not always, but every once in awhile.  

Have you ever started a diy home project and it seemed like it took 

forever?

Well, that's how it's been with regards to refinishing our deck this year.
Back in 2010, our deck looked fabulous and so well put together.
But, this year, our deck started to peel in a bunch of places, so I pressure washed  it...


Until it looked like this and all the loose old finish was removed. We did a little light sanding, as well.


We had purchased Olympic Nantucket Gray solid deck stain awhile back and we applied one coat on the deck floor, all except this corner(where we had put the furniture and the grill).  (you shouldn't really stop in the middle of the board; for best results, you should do one board all the way the the end so you don't have any marks, but I was lucky)

anyway...
This was back in June

Then it started raining.

Every 
day


 We finally had a few days of only small showers and then 2 days of no rain, so I finished the corner.
Turns out, I really HATED the color, but at least the deck floor was refinished with one thin coat. 
  
So, I went back to the store and bought another sample/er quart of stain.
I didn't like Olympic Eiffel Tower

So, I bought another quart of Olympic Pewter...
 didn't like that either...(too gray)

So, I went back to the store and bought another quart of stain.
I didn't like Olympic Deep Charcoal either. 


So, I went to the Home Depot to try one of their colors. Their stain samples were only $3.68 (instead $15+ for the quarts. 
I tried Behr Solid Color Weather Proofing  All In One Wood Stain and Sealer in Autumn Brown.
This time, I painted a piece of pine and set it against the brick.
Autumn Brown was actually too brown for me. (It's actually browner than it looks in the photo)
So, I went home and did what I usually do when I choose a paint color. 
I take what I have and mix up a couple of colors until I like the color. 
I applied the color I mixed up to a pine board and
 went back to the Home Depot and asked them if they mix custom colors for deck stain and could color match what was on my sample board.





They could and it was perfect! 


Here are all the samples I had to go through to find my perfect deck color. The final color is in the gallon.


 Of course it rained again 
for
 days

 but we finally got a break and I applied the first coat of the new color on the deck. 
and then, there was this on stairs...
what do you do?


I got another break in the rain last week for a couple of days and finished the 2nd coat on the deck floor and stairs. 
I was able to touch up some of the railing too.
Still have the bottom of the posts and the stair railing to do, but it will have to wait at least until next week. 
Mr. Fanatic likes the custom color too.

Our deck is getting a total makeover, including furniture. Mr. Fanatic made a gorgeous picnic table ~ here's a sneak peek: 
 I'll show it to you and how he made it in a couple of days. 
He also has plans to make a chaise/bench with storage for the seating on one side of the table.

Here's what I'm planning to add some color to all the gray, brown and white.

I can't tell you how HAPPY I am to finally finished the deck floor(and 1/2 of the railing).

Have you ever started a diy home project that took you forever, or is it just me?


Pam 

18 comments:

  1. Love your custom color, it is so pretty and the new table and accessories look like they are going to be amazing. Great colors and patterns. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful choice Pam! Our deck(s) are an ongoing project. We have finally decided what we are going to do but are waiting for cooler weather. It's going to be A LOT of work! They should have been redone a few years ago when the pool went in. Talk about taking forever! I love the color you ended up with. It looks great with the new accessories too. I cannot wait to see your husbands bench and table in the full reveal!

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's looking great! That custom color is fabulous! Can't wait to see it all put together for the reveal!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh Pam, I love it! Love your colors too...can't wait to see!! And it actually does look similar to our color now in some of the photos. It took me about two months to get ours completely done. Now I need to pressure wash the railings again. Ugh.

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW you poor thing, really a pain to finally get the right color and beat the rain too we have had this summer. We are doing our small side entrance and back rails soon. I hope we pick the right color.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ugh I am the worst DIYer...won't do them. But I SO admire you and the projects you take on. You are so talented and your deck looks amazing. Congrats on getting it done with all that rain!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I know I shouldn't, but I was laughing at the picture of the cans in the basket...and then..the dog prints! Too much. I can't imagine how frustrating all this was; but of course, you had no choice but to continue! Well, the color is perfect, and now it has stopped raining and your deck is going to be gorgeous!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. LOVE your deck girl. The new color and custom table is going to look FABULOUS.

    My hubster will not be overjoyed but seeing your transformation has given me lots-o-ideas about how to redo ours.

    blessings,
    Shan
    www.The-How-to-Guru.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. I forgot to add that my current project that seems like it is taking forever is getting our bedroom/closet area organized and clutter free.

    I am taking it slow though so that I won't get overwhelmed and quit. You can join me.... http://www.the-how-to-guru.com/2013/07/how-to-organize-your-walk-in-closet_25.html

    blessings,
    Shan
    www.The-How-to-Guru.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Persistence paid off, your deck looks great! We need to replace ours, past re-staining!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  11. Pretty much everything I do ends up taking forever. This weekend I'll be staining my front doors. Not looking forward to it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Too funny that you had to mix so many colors to come up with one you liked. Love your accessories you are using. My deck needs a lot of help. You can come do mine next.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Did you have any problems covering the first coat of Olympic stain that you had previously applied to the deck?

    ReplyDelete
  14. You can accomplish essentially any color utilizing stains, however pick the shade deliberately. An alternate choice is to keep the common shade of the floor, in which case you can skirt this step. Take after the guidelines on the jar of stain and make a point to let the Wood floor refinishing stain set for the suggested time period.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Do you have the label of the color you finally arrived at with the percentages/amount of the different colors that were added to the base. I would love to replicate it. Thanks,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. BEHR PREMIUM SOLID COLOR WEATHER PROOFIND ALL IN ONE WOOD STAIN @+& SEALER CLRNT OZ 384TH BL 3 256 CL 1 48 IL 1 303 KXL 5 144 BASE IS 5013

      Delete
    2. See the new photo at the very end of the post.

      Delete

Leave a comment and let me know you stopped by! If you are not on blogger, leave me your email or some other way of getting in touch with you in the comment. That way I can reply to your question or comment.