All Hands on Deck

The previous owner of our house put a new deck on the back to help aid in the selling process.  The deck is very well constructed and is made from pressure treated wood.  We have lived in the house for two years this June and we guess that the deck is probably about 2-1/2 - 3 three years old.  It had never been stained and was starting to shows signs of drying out from a couple years of direct sun exposure. This side of the house faces south and gets direct sun exposure for over 8 hours a day.

All of the above said, this was the weekend to stain the deck.  My husband has been researching the proper way to clean and stain a deck for several weeks.  He read reviews on all of the different brands and types.  We ended up using "Cabot Australian Oil' from Lowes.  We went with the natural finish, just because this was our preference.  The work started on Saturday.  First he scrubbed down the deck with water and a hard bristle brush.  Next he used "Cabot's" wood brightener.  The brightener helps bring back the warm tone of the wood.  John sprayed on the brightener with a pump sprayer.

Once the deck was cleaned it was time to stain.  John used a sponge applicator for the floor boards and a brush for the railing.  It takes 24 hours for the stain to dry.  Luckily rain held off just long enough for the stain to get good and dry.  We still have some railing to finish, but so far we are very happy.  The rain we received on Sunday showed us that the sealer is working good. The decking is no longer soaking up the rain:  the water is beading up nicely on the boards.

Post Staining....Water Beading..YEAH!



If you look at the railing you can see the unsealed section on the right.  

So far, we are really pleased with the natural finish stain.  It just warmed up the wood without turning it too golden a color.  I will update the ongoing performance of the stain in future posts.

Future Deck Upgrades:

Outdoor Seating/Furniture
Put potted plants back
Grill?