Get ready for Summer! If you’re fortunate enough to have your own outdoor space, then taking good care of your deck is just one of the smaller things you should do that will pay off in the long run. Think about how impressed your friends will be when they come over for all your summer parties. Here are some of our handy tips on a weekend DIY project to stain your outdoor deck:
1 Make sure you clean the entire deck properly by pressure washing
2 Once its clean and dry start off by taping off your deck and anything you don’t want to get stain on. You can buy some 1 mil plastic at your local hardware store. Make sure you close any open plastic areas.
3 Open your stain bucket and using a long stick to stir it up real good. You want to make sure all of the stain is properly mixed.
4 Always start staining the outside of the deck first, you want to leave the floor last so you can walk around and stain the rails and spindles. Start with brushing the outside and the left and right side of the spindles leaving the inside not stained.
5 After all spindles are stained start staining the band board and upper outer handrail. The band board is the lower part of the deck that the spindles are attached to.
6 Next stain all the support post and any header boards under the deck you might have. Don’t worry about staining under the deck, it’s not needed because it doesn’t see the elements like the tops and sides.
7 Now that the whole outer deck is done, do it again. You need 2 coats of stain to properly seal your deck.
8 After the 2 coatings are done, do some touch-up on the outside of the deck make sure every part has an even coat.
9 Now for the inside of the deck – Start by staining the top of the handrails then go ahead and brush the inner side of the spindles. DON’T DRIP STAIN ANYWHERE, this will show through and look horrible. If you drip just brush it out before it dries.
10 OK handrails and spindles are done. Go ahead and give them another coat before you start to stain the floor.
11Staining the floor can be hard on the knees so find some knee pads and start staining next to the house brushing the deck with the grain. Brush your way down the steps. Be careful when you’re at the edge of the deck by not scraping your brush on the edge. This will leave runs on the outside of the band board.
12 Don’t forget to give the floor and steps another good coat of stain.
13 Now for the easy part – After the stain has dried you can now remove all the plastic and tape and pat yourself on the back because the deck looks great.
