Staining a deck...I did it!

Anyone who is even a little familiar with me knows that  I am not the "handy" type. I have been known to do what I need to do - drill a hole here and there,  paint a room - but do it yourself projects around the house are generally NOT my forte! I've lived in my home for five years and only two rooms are painted - the nursery (now big boy room) and my office. My office that I painted about a year ago and still have not converted to an office. See what I mean? Anyhow, I have a deck off of my bedroom and it would make a great outdoor living space but I rarely go out there.





For some reason, this year I decided I wanted to enjoy the night air and I've been doing so but my deck? Well, with wood that has never been treated it is quickly decaying. So...when Walmart launched "projects made simple" I choose to stain my deck. Two months ago. Yes, this has been a work in progress and if my wood had ever been treated this project would have been completed long ago. But alas it is multi-tiered and took longer than expected.


The job seemed easy enough, I watched the Projects Made Simple 3 minute YouTube video and was certain I could do the deck in a day or so. I rounded up all the tools needed - well, I had to wait on the deck wash because it wasn't carried in the two stores I frequented so I ordered online. This was the first very minor delay. I realized I needed to sand a bit so I purchased a small manual sander. But when I went outside, I realized that the wood used by my builders was probably the cheapest available because one rail had sap that was fossilized and I had to sand it. Back to the store I went to purchase a sander.





When I was ready to go I noticed I did NOT own an extension cord long enough to utilize my sander. Delay number two. I borrowed a cord and finally was able to do the sanding. After sanding the deck I needed to wash it. Putting together the dispenser was fairly easy but one piece was tricky so I asked a friend for help a couple of weeks ago. Finally I was able to clean the deck!


As luck would have it, summers in Atlanta are wrought with thunderstorms. So, although my deck was clean and ready to be stained the weather did not cooperate. Until today. Today I got out there and finally stained the deck! It was easy but slow and tedious. I started working in the hot sun around 12:30 and quickly realized that one gallon of stain was not going to be enough. I was able to stain the rails and half of the floor of the deck before I headed to Walmart once again for more stain.



Finally, finally after hours of labor I finished the deck. Kind of. I still need to do the edging and I STILL need to borrow a ladder so that I can stain the outside of my deck. But for now, I count this job as D.O.N.E.! I am proud of myself for getting out there and doing the task - I suppose I should start singing "I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar" but for now I think I will sit back, relax and enjoy a nice ice cold beer from my refrigerator. Isn't that what folks do after a labor intensive, hot summer day of work???




Disclosure: I am a Walmart mom and received products and/or compensation to complete this post. The labor required, the blood, sweat and tears...the opinions? ALL MINE!