From Hideous to So Much Better - My $50 Deck Makeover

With a little bit of elbow grease, I was able to complete this $50 Deck Makeover in just a few days after work.

Back when I first bought my house the one thing I absolutely hated was the front stoop.  There was the door, a HUGE slab of concrete and cement steps.  It was hideous.My house was built in the 1970's and almost everything in it is the original.  I've been able to handle the paneling and the brown linoleum kitchen floor over the years but that front stoop had to go.  My father was still alive at the time and so he built a front porch for me.  I didn't have a very big budget ~ I think around $200 or maybe $300 so my options were limited but I knew I wanted a wooden porch with railings and window boxes.  My father built me the perfect porch and I loved it!That was a long time ago and a few years ago the porch really started to show its age so I had to revamp it a bit.  Right now there are no plans for a NEW front porch (yet) so I needed to make the most of what I had.I had to replace the steps and I had no idea what I was doing.

My oldest son demolished the old steps and took off railings, etc., that I needed to get rid of and I started the task of building the new steps.  I bought pre-made risers and I am not sure what I did?????? but they are extremely steep so I'm not thrilled with them (my Dad had made nice wide steps with the perfect depth and I could not duplicate them). *** note the photo - I had the steps in upside down!?! I didn't figure it out but a local handyman did and fixed them for me and they are much better now.

When I redid the steps I only had about 3 days of time to get them along with the paint job and a million over things done ~ I was meeting my father-in-law for the first time and didn't want the house to look a wreck so J (my oldest son) and I did our best to get it done while working our day jobs...that meant we were outside with a sledgehammer, drills and hammers at midnight...I'm sure my neighbors were thrilled! 😉

In any case, that first makeover didn't turn out as planned.  I used Behr DeckOver and went from a cedar stain to a Cape Cod gray paint.....I really thought I would like it ~ I wanted to brighten up the entrance but I ended up regretting it.

That color choice showed EVERY speck of dirt, shoe prints and more.

This spring I was scrubbing the porch and decided to use the pressure washer on it.....oh....my....goodness....the paint had already started peeling in some areas and the pressure washer shredded much of what was left.  It was like watching a train wreck....I kept the power on and watched the paint job get totally ruined.  You can find some pressure washing tips and before's and after's here as well as the pressure washer I use.

Once I started I couldn't stop (am I the only one who does things like this?).  I'm sure the problem with the paint NOT adhering properly was an error on my part ~ as I said I was in a rush to get things done and had a very limited amount of time so I don't think I prepped the surface properly at all but this time, this time I was going to be sure I did.

I pressure washed the decking, used Citristrip {this stuff is awesome for stripping multiple layers of paint} on it to get off the paint that was still left.  I did need to scrape it quite a bit but I like to see how big of a strip of paint I can lift off at once....it's the little things in life 😉

I pressure washed it once more, sanded it and then pressure washed it again.

This may seem like overkill but I wanted to be sure the paint STUCK this time.I followed the instructions exactly and wow, what a wonderful difference! This time I also chose a darker color {Chestnut} ~ it seemed to fit the flow of the yard, garden, etc., better than the stark lighter color.  You can see how the Behr DeckOver almost totally filled in even the biggest of splits in the wood and how much smoother and fresher the porch looks.  This should hopefully give me a few more good years of porch use and for the extra time and the less than $50.00 it took it was well worth it.

This was definitely a lesson in patience.  I should have taken my time the first time to do things right or just waited until I had more time rather than switching out an old set of steps for Mt. Everest and not properly prepping my deck....I guess that's where the phrase live and learn comes in to play.  

Here is a list with links of what I used for this project:

Behr DeckOver in Chestnut

Citristrip

Stripping and Refinishing Gloves - I have had these for years and they last and last and protect my hands

Ryobi Pressure Washer

Putty Knife - Used a metal one but should have used plastic.  If you do use a metal putty knife be careful that you don't damage the wood

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