Deck Refresh

I forgot to mention that there was one last thing we did this past 4th of July weekend.  We sanded, power-washed, re-stained and fixed up our back deck.  I don't think there is much else to say.  The pictures speak for themselves.

This is what it looked like when we first moved in.

Then we spent that first summer making it look like this.

We have since ruined our yard with dogs but added a nice pathway instead of the uneven flagstones.

(oh and this just reminded me that we forgot to put out our umbrella and cushions this year)

And this is what it had looked like on Friday morning.  Blah!

Nasty hot tub remnants.

So Brandon and I power-washed and sanded the scum right off it.  Brandon took the week off so he really did most of the work.  

I have to admit I really liked power-washing.  It was so effective and immediate.  It felt so good to blast the dirt and cobwebs away.

Once it dried we were ready to paint.  Tyler came over and helped for a bit too.

See what a difference it made!

We used a Behr solid color deck stain.  It isn't quite paint but it is a little more solid than a stain.  I really liked it.  It was easy to apply and very forgiving.  We edged once and rolled the boards twice.

And here it is all done!

Again minus the umbrella and cushions.  

It would have looked so cute if I would have remembered that.  Oh well.

There was just one last thing Brandon did to majorly fix the eyesore that was our deck.  He added some boards along the base to cover all the concrete and garbage sitting under there.

Oh and prevent the dogs from going underneath.

We did plant boxwoods all along the deck but quickly learned that was the dogs' favorite spot to lay - right on top of the boxwoods - and hostas and really any growing plant.

GRRRRR.

The vertical slats really help give the deck that finishing touch. 

(squashed and eaten hosta)

Next summer the plan is to add more pavers and make a nice raised edge and plant large, mature evergreen bushes that the dogs cannot easily destroy.

We just need to recover from the front porch project and landscaping the front yard.

Then we will finish what we started back here.