Staining the Deck Part 1

This past weekend we decided it was our last chance to stain and weatherize the deck.  We had debated whether we should try to do it before this winter, and based on the weathered look of the wood, decided it had not been done in a while, and we'd better get it done.  On Friday we gathered up all the supplies we would need, then got up Saturday morning to clean and powerwash.  It was only about 45 degrees when we first started, but warmed up to about 60 by the afternoon. 

Laurel loves being outside, and wanted to help sweep the leaves off the deck.

Here is a before shot of the deck.  

First Scott used a garden sprayer to spray on a deck cleaner.

Then he used the power washer to wash off the cleaner and get the deck ready to stain!

Here is a "just washed" section next to a section that has not been treated or washed yet.  The washing made the wood a little brighter, but we could definitely tell that it needed to be stained!

 While Scott power washed, I put Laurel down for her nap, and then did some work for my job.  As I did that, I realized that Scott had decided to power wash the entire house!  I guess since we had the machine, he wanted to put it to good use.

The deck had to dry for 24 hours, so we finished off the evening doing a few other new house projects, like:

Hang a second towel hook in the master bathroom

Put up a few door stops

Install a shelf above the washer/dryer in the laundry room

Put the legs back on this lovely creation.  This at one time was a lectern at Central College.  I bought it and installed the legs, and used it as a coffee table.  While in storage, the legs bent, so I had to fix those.  Now it is in Laurel's room as a drawing/reading station.