12 Easy Ways to Add Instant Curb Appeal & An Outdoor Do It Yourself Party

100th Anniversary of Tablescape Thursday:
Tomorrow is Tablescape Thursday and we are celebrating 100 Weeks of Tablescaping!) Whooo, Hooo! Come join in...it's going to be a fabulous party! :-)

Deck Renovation:
I've been cleaning decks here at BNOTP! Kathleen (Cuisine Kathleen) told me about a fabulous deck cleaner made by Olympic...and I've been using it to clean, clean, clean! This stuff is great! You just spray it on, let it set for 5-10 minutes, then rinse it off. My deck was pretty yucky so I had to apply it 3 times. If you clean your decks more than once a year, or if your decks are not underneath trees, one cleaning might do the job.

When my decks were initially stained, the painters did a rather poor job. They put on a thin first coat with plans to apply a second coat. I explained to them that the store where I bought the Cabot Heartwood stain told me you positively can't put down a second coat. Even the can states it in bold letters. It would never dry and would be tacky. So, the stain has, unfortunately, always looked a little splotchy/thin. It's been two years and the water just didn't appear to be beading up so well anymore. Here's what the deck looked like after I gave it a thorough cleaning.



I actually cleaned it about 3 times to make sure I removed all the mildew and moldy stuff that had formed over the past year...not to mention the stuff that falls out of the trees.


Today, I dragged all the furniture over to the other section of deck. Fortunately, there's a nice divider between the two decks so I can stain one side and then the other.


Then I got busy staining. I've never done this before, so this was a first. I took pics after each section...just for you! :-)


The first section is starting to dry...second section is complete. I like the color, Heartwood, because it isn't too dark and isn't too red. It's also a close match to the tongue and groove flooring of the screened-in porch, so it makes a nice transition when you walk out of the porch onto the deck. Yes, I notice that stuff...I'm sick that way! ;-)

I put it down with a 4 inch brush...just the way I read online. You can use a roller...but it's not the same. AND, the Cabot can said to use a brush...nothing on the back of the can about a roller. Actually, I enjoyed the process...kind of fun watching the transformation...messy, but fun.



Ta-da! All done! :-)


One deck down, two to go. The others are all washed and cleaned...just gotta stain them.


The pergola over the deck located on the other side of the porch, got a good cleaning, too...


This section gets stained tomorrow...oh, my aching back! :-)


Not the most exciting metamorphosis, but a necessary job! Thanks, Kathleen for the tip on the Olympic Deck Cleaner...it's good stuff!


UPDATE for Monday morning:
Finished Phase II this morning...second deck is stained (still drying in the pic below) and the legs are jell-o. I feel liked I've just finished 20 runs down black diamond, Lower Psychopath or High Anxiety at Breckenridge. :-) Ok, maybe not that bad, but climbing stairs is definitely no fun right now. Stinks being out of shape...blogging does nothing for the legs or posterior. Let's just say, I'm WELL AWARE that we have muscles in our sitting down spot, today! :-) I feel every one of them!


Moved the furniture/plants back onto the deck that was stained yesterday. Probably rushing it a bit, but it felt really dry...so far, so good.


Phase III: But NOT today! This final section will probably get done next weekend...if my legs and back side recover by then. ;-)