Repainting- The Deck

Our house has been on the market for almost 3 weeks now. We've had steady showings and most of the feed back has been positive. No offers yet but our realtor said in this market it could take a few months to find a buyer.


One of the kind of negative comments we've received is about our deck. We use it a lot, to lounge on while we watch Con-Man play, hanging out with friends and grilling. 

But over time the paint treatment that was done has worn away.

I have some theories on how this could have happened. I don't want to name any names, but I think I know who the culprit may be....

In an effort to make our home look as good as possible we decided to repaint the deck. I started by looking up some tips on deck refinishing:

- Remove all plants and cover any landscaping before using a paint stripper or deck cleaning product

- Don't use chlorine bleach and always do a test spot before using a cleaning product on the entire surface

- A clear coat of urethane will not protect your deck from UV rays

- Clean your deck before applying a finish coat with a powerful hose and scrub with soapy water and wait 24 hours between the cleaning process and starting the painting process

- Look for a finish product that is water resistant

- Don't over apply your finish coat, the wood can only absorb so much before it becomes over saturated

- Wait at least 3 hours between coats

I  bought some paint that is specifically made for outdoor decks I got started painting. (The painting was the easy part...) I went to Home Depot and had them match the paint for me since I'm not sure what the original color was. It matches almost exactly!

I also decluttered the deck by removing my homemade patio furniture and moved all the potted plants so people could see how large the deck is.

The steps look a lot better and Gracie approves!

Anyone else been taking on outdoor projects lately?