CALL911
11-07-2009, 04:51 PM
Having prior experience in painting houses, and staining decks, I couldn't help but notice the poor condition of the deck of the house I am currently renting. I contacted the owner and told him I could fix it up for him, and I'd cut him a good deal on it. It took him forever to agree, but he finally agreed to let me fix it up (which was good because it saved me half a months rent :) ).
Here are the before pictures. As you can see, it has been let go for WAY too long. There used to be a swimming pool, but the owner had it removed because of its poor condition.
http://i36.tinypic.com/330w9kx.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/a5coiw.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/34ipdi1.jpg
The first step was cutting back all the little trees and shrubs that were starting to entangle parts of the rails and deck. After that came the powerwashing. This is really essential since it will take off the layer of sun-faded/dead wood, and clean of any oxidation and mold. I have learned over the years of doing it that you can't just pick up a powerwasher and start spraying away especially on decks as you will leave washing lines in the wood. It takes a steady hand and a good washing technique (along with a bit of experience) to powerwash it correctly without leaving any lines, while still doing an effective job of wasing everything.
I also added a step the length of the deck, since it seemed like it needed one.
http://i34.tinypic.com/213ka69.jpg
And finally, I stained everything. I chose more of a red-wood stain as it matches some of the brick that the house is sided with. I am happy with how it turned out, and I always love doing something like this where the original condition can be transformed into something like the end result. (Now if I only had the kind of experience that I currently have with decks, painting, and staining, to the extent that I could do the same with an old rusted out broken down muscle car...)
http://i33.tinypic.com/9ast4z.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/14aa8u1.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/2i1cmti.jpg
Here are the before pictures. As you can see, it has been let go for WAY too long. There used to be a swimming pool, but the owner had it removed because of its poor condition.
http://i36.tinypic.com/330w9kx.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/a5coiw.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/34ipdi1.jpg
The first step was cutting back all the little trees and shrubs that were starting to entangle parts of the rails and deck. After that came the powerwashing. This is really essential since it will take off the layer of sun-faded/dead wood, and clean of any oxidation and mold. I have learned over the years of doing it that you can't just pick up a powerwasher and start spraying away especially on decks as you will leave washing lines in the wood. It takes a steady hand and a good washing technique (along with a bit of experience) to powerwash it correctly without leaving any lines, while still doing an effective job of wasing everything.
I also added a step the length of the deck, since it seemed like it needed one.
http://i34.tinypic.com/213ka69.jpg
And finally, I stained everything. I chose more of a red-wood stain as it matches some of the brick that the house is sided with. I am happy with how it turned out, and I always love doing something like this where the original condition can be transformed into something like the end result. (Now if I only had the kind of experience that I currently have with decks, painting, and staining, to the extent that I could do the same with an old rusted out broken down muscle car...)
http://i33.tinypic.com/9ast4z.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/14aa8u1.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/2i1cmti.jpg