Deck The Yard

Hello Friends!  Here's a late update for you.  I'm nose deep in last minute wedding-related stress, so excuse the delayed update.  Over the last holiday weekend (fourth of July) we put work into the outside of the house.  I hope you like outdoor updates...It needs A LOT of hard work.  

A few weeks ago I shared the updates on our Pergola.  Next, we spent our time focusing on the other two decks we inherited.

The first deck is off of our dining room and kitchen, and through the sliding glass door.

Here's an outside view of it.  The deck was in pretty good condition, but we weren't fans of the paint.  Truth: I hated it.  We planned to remove the paint with the pressure washer, and then assess the condition of the boards.  Crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.



Well, the deck boards looked rough and the paint wasn't cleaning up as well as I had hoped.  If I only used the pressure washer, I would've had to follow up with a good sanding.



Not my idea of a good time. 

Instead, we were able to get a brand new deck with out spending a dime on wood.  We didn't buy stripper, we didn't sand, and I didn't steal the neighbors deck. 



We flipped the boards over!

I can't take credit for that idea.  That was 100% my mom.  Genius lady, I tell ya!

It makes soooooo much sense!  Only the top of the boards are painted and weathered, and the underside hasn't seen the light of day....ever.  So why not?!

I started to flip each board (one at a time) and I got to personally meet the 39,000 spiders living beneath our deck. Yes, I counted them.  Counted as I played whack-a-spider.  I'm a braver girl with a hammer.



I know.. it's ugly and it looks pretty redneck.  Hold on.. I'll get to that.

Flipping the boards was easier said than done.  Mostly because several screws had rusted through and didn't come right out.  This required the board to be flipped, the screw to be hammered through to a point where it could then be removed with a drill gun or a crowbar.  Oh, and then there was spider-killing time.  So that equaled out to about 5-8 minutes for each board to be unscrewed, flipped, de-spidered, cleaned of wayward screws, and screwed back into place.

I tossed the rusty screws and used new deck screws to attach the boards.



My heart started to race a bit as I saw the grungy undersides.  Definitely not HGTV worthy.

But these ladies cleaned up nicely with just a bit of pressure washing.  (I tested an area with the pressure washer when I first saw how dirty they were).  I knew they would clean up, but I'm still amazed as how great they look!

Great idea? Yes.  Took longer than I anticipated (a whole day)?  Yes.  Want to know how much I hate decks? and spiders?

The job isn't done quite yet.  I need to sand the boards that couldn't be lodged out of place to be flipped (like the face boards seen below).  We also need to replace the lattice on the sides.  One little dog likes to chase chipmunks under the deck, so the green lattice will be staying put 'til we upgrade to a fancy new dachshund blocker.



The deck was originally built with pressure treated wood.  The boards were so nicely protected underneath the deck that many are still not "dry" from the pressure treating and can't take stain yet.  We'll test again in September and see if it's ready to go.

I have a few ideas for stain that will compliment future plans we're tossing around.  And I'll paint those greenish face boards with something more complimentary.  That sounds easier than sanding them clean enough to stain.



In the meantime, Justin spruced up the area with some black landscape edging we had on hand and defined a little corner nook for the bush.



In other news, the second deck (in the far corner of our yard down by the creek) cleaned up really well with just the pressure washer.  I figured it was just something we would have to rip out (eventually).  Who would've thought nice wood was hiding under a black mask.

A little bit of pressure washing revealed that algae and grime provide great protection for wood.  

The swing had to go, but the paint on the frame came off easily.  Now it's all ready for a stain or sealant!

We still have a loooong way to go in the backyard.  But for $20 (and a large amount of water), I'd say this is a good step in the right direction. 

  

 

We plan to expand the patio with hardscaping to reach over to the second sliding door (to the far right in the picture below), and also create a path leading over to the pergola (to the left).  Right now the deck looks out of proportion with our sprawling ranch.  We hope the hardscaping will help scale the outdoor living space to match the ridiculous amount of doors we have.  

 

Baby steps people... I've got to get back to stressing about a wedding :)