Bill and Traci

Traci and I have been a couple of "busy beavers" the past couple of weeks. Due to the cold winters and hot summers in Kansas, the stain on our deck has taken a beating and was in severe need of a new coat.

Most people we spoke with recommended that we powerwash the desk before apply stain; however, we ended up going a different route after speaking with the paint guy from Lowe's. He recommended some stain remover stuff you sprayed on with the hose and then rinse with water. We went with that option due to not having a powerwasher or the fact that it would only cost $7 for the remover and an hour or so of our time.

The weathered deck

The stairs look horrible

It took us about 6 hours to apply the stain with brushes. Unfortunately, that day ended up being the hottest day of the year and the sun beat down on us the entire time. We went with a darker color and were very happy with the results. We stopped staining so we could go bowling with some friends in our new bowling league (More on that in a future blog) and I resumed staining at 9pm. It was pretty dark out and my only hope was that I didn't miss any big spots. :-)

First the rails

Then the decking

Almost done

In addition to our deck needing attention, our house was hurtin for certain. The paint was hanging off the house in some places and we even had some boards exposed. We had several people come over and give us a bid and ended up hiring a man named Bill who had the best rates, encouraged us to go and look at some of his other paint jobs, and genuinely seemed like he cared and enjoyed doing what he did.

It took him and his crew a day and a half to caulk the house, primer the bare wood and pound all nails in. They then spent another 1/2 day putting on two coats of the base. They have been true to their word and have done an incredible job. Once the house is complete, I will post the finished work.