Staining a deck requires a lot of prep. And, I LOVE Prep.
You know prep, right? Like this…
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I’m a child of the 80s. When I was growing up, we all walked around with whales on our shorts, crocodiles on our shirts, and collars popped.
We shopped at Britches Great Outdoors for rugbys…in the men’s section. Why? No idea. Same reason our bangs had their own zip codes, I suppose. But the general “preppy” vibe was a winner, and still is today, in my book. In short…
Prep is natural.
Prep is good.
Not everybody does it, but everybody should.
George Michael, 1987 (with some artistic license by yours truly)
But as fun as prep is, that’s sadly not the kind of prep I gotta talk with you about today. We’re talking “wood deck prep” today.
No, not “deck prep” in a fun, ritzy, “bring me my yacht” kind of way…It’s deck prep in the dirty, unglamorous, hardcore labor, back-breaking labor kind of way. Like this…
Staining a deck reality shot: This is deck prep.
Reality is a B*$#CH people, and this is how you may end up looking during THIS kind of “deck prep”. It’s certainly not J.Crew-catalog-worthy stuff. But we’re in the throes of our deck makeover here, getting ready for staining this week…deadline’s a-comin’, so it’s time we push it.
Supplies needed for staining a deck:
- deck washer broom tool (attaches to garden hose)
- outdoor bleach
- power washer
- belt sander or palm sander
- 40-grit sandpaper
- leaf blower
I was in charge of creating a profile for the ends of the “roof” beams. Here’s my very technical drawing of our options.
Gettin’ jiggy with it…
I gotta admit of all the power tools around, the jigsaw is one of my favorites. It’s small, and a lot less cumbersome to use than a lot of them. And you can make pretty precise cuts with it.
Meanwhile, back on the wooden deck, we were sanding down all the rough spots, like where we got rid of the old railing. Dave used the belt sander while I used the palm sander with 40-grit sandpaper to go over rough spots on the deck boards or spots where paint was chipping away.
Last, but not least, we used the power washer and the leaf blower to get rid of the sanding dust and any other debris.
And now we wait. We need at least a couple dry days in a row before we can start staining the deck, and dry days have been few and far in between lately here on the east coast. I can’t wait to get the Cabot stain on. Staining a deck is a much more palatable job when there are so many beautiful colors to choose from. We are going for one called Seacoast Gray.
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Ivory says
Wow, love it, love it, love what you and your family did. Fabulous!
Can you also show a step by step tutorial on how you built your pergola.
Heather says
Just recently I was thinking about those men’s rugby shirts I used to wear. . . and I thought, “What??? Was that a common trend. or just me?” It’s comforting to know I wasn’t the only insane one in those days 😉
Ugh, my deck is tiny, but way uglier than yours.
Slightly Coastal says
After reading this post I like totally felt the need to pull out my old Guess jeans and roll the bottoms until my feet went numb. Even that sounds more fun than deck prep. But seriously dude, I can't wait to see what you do with your outdoor space. I'm sure it will be like totally radical. Go class of '89!
Kyla @HouseOfHipsters says
Reality is a b!t@h, but girl, you are rockin' those crocs! What you guys did was NOT a fun job, but It really looks amazing. Can't wait to see the final product!
Kim @ Savvy Southern Style says
Can't wait to see it, Heather. Ours is almost finished.
Heather says
I know Kim! Your husband and mine should be comparing notes!!
Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says
It's always so much better when you get past the prep stage and into the meat of the project but it has to be done! Can't wait to see the project progress!
Heather says
You are so right Anele! Climbing the mountain is worth the view from the park, right?!