Preparing your deck for another fun summer season is part of prepping your outdoor space each spring. This may be the year that your deck could use a new paint job or a new coat of stain. Here are five easy tips to remember to help make the process go smoothly.
Step 1: Cleaning
The first order of business before painting or staining your deck is to make sure you have a clean surface. By giving it a thorough sweep, you will help get the dirt and debris off that would otherwise stick to the wood once the stain hits its surface. For older decks, you will likely have to use a pressure washer in order to clean it properly. If you need to pressure wash the deck, but sure to allow an ample amount of time for the wood to dry prior to applying paint or stain.
Step 2: Guarding the Walls
Just like on the inside of your home when painting, you need to tape off the edges of areas you don’t want to paint. The last thing you want to do is to get paint or stain on your exterior walls. So tape off the edges to help protect them from your paintbrush.
Step 3: Escape Plan
Create a plan of how you are going to paint the deck. Be sure that you will finish by an easy exit point. If you start in the wrong spot you can get trapped in and fully surrounded by wet paint and stain, thus ruining all your work in order to get off of the deck. Strategize your escape route so that you won’t have to be sorry about stepping on the wet surface once the job is done.
Step 4: Start Painting
Grab your paintbrush or paint pad, your paint pan, and get to it. Be mindful of evenly applying the stain so that you avoid spots of uneven color. Paint in the same direction throughout the deck to be sure that the paint or stain is applied consistently throughout the whole surface. To get in between the cracks, use a 1’ brush as you go. This is going to be the easiest way to get to all of those tough spots.
Step 5: Dry
When it comes to letting the stain dry, you will want to wait at least 24 hours before moving your deck furniture on to it. Make sure that it is totally dry before using it—this will ensure that you don’t ruin all the work you just did.
Making your deck look fresh and ready to go for this upcoming “deck-using season” will give you great pride in your outdoor space. Painting or staining your deck will give your yard and home a nice facelift, just in time to enjoy it this summer.
