Staining all the Wood

While Mr M was on vacation from work he power washed all the wood: the front porch, the back deck, the basement patio, and the treehouse.  It was then my job to stain everything to protect the wood.

We never actually stained the treehouse and basement patio last fall, so it was past time for those to be taken care of.

Last time we stained the decks, about 4 years ago, I did it all with a brush, but I pooped out and never stained the outside surfaces of the deck railings.

This time around I decided to use the paint sprayer on the deck, patio, and treehouse. I had to mask off the house with sheets of plastic, which was a pain, but the staining process was a lot quicker. Maybe not quite as even, but it was quicker and my hand didn’t turn into a claw from gripping the paint brush.

I also couldn’t do any spraying if it was windy, since then the stain would be carried on the wind and get on everything.

Because of the white railings and the roof on the front porch, I opted to use the brush, rather than try to mask everything off. It was the smallest surface, so it wasn’t too bad to do by hand.

Everything looks a lot nicer, but a low-maintenance material that doesn’t need to be stained every few years would be better. Too bad Trex costs so much. When we build our own place we'll budget for Trex decks. Not having to re-stain every couple years is totally worth the extra money upfront.

Before I stained the front porch I repainted the columns, trim, and stair risers white and the door blue. All the trim paint was looking grungy, the door had faded, and it still had an unpainted circle around the doorknob from when Mr M replaced the door knobs several years ago. 

It was a lot of work, but the fresh stain and paint and clean siding (the house finally got power washed too) make everything look so much nicer.

All this reminded me why we never got the patio and treehouse stained last fall. Coordinating free time with no wind and dry conditions is pretty hit or miss. Add in a very small baby, and it's no wonder I didn't get it done last year. At least it only needs to be done every 3-4 years (the can claims 4 years, though 3 is probably more accurate).