Ah, nice. Thanks for the heads up. Any input on sealants/laquer types/brands?

5/25/2013 3:12:18 PM

Well if you already have some wood glue, I'd say just water it down to a 1:1 ratio and use that (free is best!)...otherwise, you can probably find Zinnser SealCoat (or any other "sanding sealer") at Lowes or Home Depot.

If you really want a smooth, glossy finish you'll want to sand in between coats

[Edited on May 25, 2013 at 9:34 PM. Reason : ]

5/25/2013 9:33:12 PM

Finally gave up on our deck this year, at least as far as staining it. The previous owner went nearly the entire time they owned the house (9ish years I think) without ever keeping up with the new deck the builder's put in. Since moving in we've pressured-washed and stained but it was like putting lipstick on a pig; we inherited the deck too dried out and cracked. It looked pretty good from far away when we kept it stained but it was too cracked and splintered to walk around barefoot or have our dog laying out there.

Went ahead and used a stripping agent and a chemical cleaner last weekend. This past weekend we used that Behr DeckOver product on every visible portion of the deck. We went with a two-tone scheme visible from the inside of the house/on the deck but visible from our yard, the exterior sides of the deck are all the main color of the deck boards themselves.

I'll have to get some pictures later. Time will tell how well it wears in the elements, but from an initial "project complete" standpoint I am very satisfied. It really did fill in the cracks and seal in splinters (I removed any very large, very loose ones before we started but there were still plenty of small ones) and provides a nice walking surface now. We were out on it barefoot yesterday finishing spindles and I never did that previously due to plenty instances of splinters-in-the-foot when we first moved in. The overall appearance is similar to those composite deck boards now.

5/27/2013 10:25:01 AM

composite board with pvc wrapper is the way to go. 0 maintenance and none of the heat issues of all pvc

5/27/2013 11:37:47 AM

Totally agree if you're building something new; however, our wooden deck was still salvageable with this coating product. Took $200 and our own labor vs the cost of a new composite deck and it is bare-feet and dog friendly now and looks much nicer which is all we needed.

If we ever re-build the deck, it will be a screened and covered deck.

5/27/2013 11:52:12 AM

^^^definitely would like to see photos.

5/27/2013 5:57:43 PM

^^sounds like the exact same scenario we have at our house. I want to tear it all down and put up a larger, screened porch, but will have to put that off until at least next year.

My uncle used the Behr deck filler/sealer product earlier this Spring and swears by it. I'm thinking about doing it this week. How long did it take for the deck to be useable again? We are having a cookout party this weekend so the deck needs to be open

5/28/2013 8:14:21 AM

If weather cooperates, this was my experience:

The deck boards themselves take 2 coats to really fill in cracks and smooth the surface out, keeping your roller generously loaded the whole time. They say to allow 4-6 hours between coats, depending on the temperature, wind, and humidity. I did a 2nd coat starting at 4 hours because it was windy, dry, and in the 80s when I was doing it this weekend so it was ready to go again quickly.

From that point, they say no foot-traffic for 24 hours, at which point light foot traffic is ok, and then fully cured at 72.

I did the first 2 coats on the deck boards and stair treads on Friday, then on Sunday my wife and I went on the deck barefoot and did the handrails, spindles, supports, etc. It was just barely noticeably tacky still with around 36 hours after that 2nd coat. The handrails and other items that aren't getting the foot-traffic are good to go probably after 6 hours.

So, in terms of scheduling:

*It took me about 1 hr to do our 12x16 deck in one coat
*Leave 4-6 hours between coats
*It took me probably 45 mins the 2nd coat
*From this point, you're ~72 hours out until they say it's OK to be moving furniture back onto the deck and having heavy foot-traffic on the deck. During this period, is when you'll want to do all the minor items like spindles and handrails

And as a heads up, the previous weekend we used the chemical cleaner as opposed to pressure washing because I knew it would just loosen more splinters that way. Between cleaning, rinsing, and drying, you probably have a day there. You should definitely look into that if you are starting with something stained or painted already.

[Edited on May 28, 2013 at 9:45 AM. Reason : ]

5/28/2013 9:28:55 AM

awesome, thanks for the info

is the chemical cleaner part essential? Our deck is so weathered any stair or paint that was put on by the previous homeowners is long gone

5/28/2013 10:21:11 AM

I would still consider some minor prep, at least just to wash any dirt, dust, pollen, mildew, etc. off of it so that's your call. I rolled that chemical cleaner on and then rinsed it off. I would consider rinsing it off with a hose and nozzle while brushing it with a stiff-bristle broom/brush if you have one or worst case rinsing it with a hose to at least get the dust and dirt off if nothing else.

But then of course it has to fully dry before you can start using the DeckOver. If you already have a pressure washer, using it on a low setting is worth considering as well.

If you had more time, you sound like you're in my situation. There is a stain/paint stripping application they recommend and THEN the chemical cleaner. Our stain was wearing thin (which is why we re-evaluated our deck situation) so I just went with the cleaner because it should still help prep the surface. I know time is a constraint for you, so you'll just have to make a judgement call on what you have time for; however, even a little prep goes a long way to helping a rolled or brushed on coating stick.

[Edited on May 28, 2013 at 10:46 AM. Reason : ]

5/28/2013 10:44:43 AM

Today I threw 4,000 PSI at my front porch, which to my knowledge has never been washed since the house was built in 1994. It's pretty amazing, almost looks like it was built a week ago. Here are a couple sample pics, I will add another once I find a before pic of the front of the porch.

Steps Before:


Steps After:


Side Rail Before:


Side Rail After:

5/28/2013 4:40:22 PM

nice!

Today is the day, I went out to Lowes this morning and picked up some deck wash cleaner and Restore by Rust-oleum. Apparently Lowes doesnt carry Behr, so I couldnt get the DeckOver product, but the Restore seems like the exact same thing. I'll try to take some before and after pics

5/29/2013 7:31:44 AM

Good luck

I will post some pictures of our deck at home tonight (when flickr isn't blocked... /workplace annoyances)

5/29/2013 11:36:44 AM

Found a picture (kind of) of the front of the porch. I also added a picture of the deck boards after the first pass. Getting ready to hit it with a second pass today.

Front Corner Before:


Front Corner After:


Deck Boards Before:


Deck Boards After first pass:


Shot of the whole front porch:


[Edited on May 29, 2013 at 11:55 AM. Reason : >]

5/29/2013 11:55:00 AM

Looks MUCH better. You going to re-stain or seal it now?

I think you got lucky that yours is a covered porch. Otherwise I can't believe it is in decent shape after so long with nothing. Our back deck is not covered and after not even as long as yours, it was just SO dry and splintered that, while it did look much better after we would pressure wash and stain it, it still wasn't foot-traffic friendly. I think direct sun just killed it.

5/29/2013 12:02:23 PM

^ Going to give it a couple weeks to let it dry really well, then going to seal it. Planning to use the same sealant I used on my back deck. It has a little hint of color, but still shows off the wood grain. I think they call it "Honey" color.

And yeah, a lot of the wood that is sun-facing is definitely not in good shape. Fortunately, other than the steps, none of it needs to be walk-friendly. I will probably need to replace the boards on the steps before I would feel comfortable walking on it barefoot.

I might as well post a picture of the beast that has helped with this project. It's way too heavy to get it off my truck (plus it has a flat tire), so I just backed my truck up to the end of the porch.



[Edited on May 29, 2013 at 12:41 PM. Reason : a]

5/29/2013 12:12:11 PM

And this is why you do a second pass when pressure washing. Just because it looks clean, doesn't mean it is. It can ALWAYS be cleaner. The GF told me it was good enough yesterday, wait till she sees this!



[Edited on May 29, 2013 at 3:48 PM. Reason : a]

5/29/2013 3:47:06 PM

As an update, here is where I am with my pool deck project:

5/29/2013 3:58:57 PM

^ NICE! I am jealous

Even though you have a post out of level, not sure if it's the one in the middle or the one closest to the pool.

[Edited on May 29, 2013 at 5:05 PM. Reason : a]

5/29/2013 5:03:46 PM

It's the one in the middle. That post is straight at the bottom and warps near the middle. I probably shouldn't have used it, but I wasn't about to stop for one post. I should be able to hide it in the rail.

Nice job on your deck too, btw. I have a few things around here that need some rehab cleaning and probably treated.

5/29/2013 7:32:27 PM

Ok, here is a picture during the first coat. You can see how dry and cracked it is (you can also see how one coat does not fill the cracks). It really doesn't show how bad the deck truly was, so you'll have to just trust me. The amount of splinters in my foot was proof enough for myself:



For good measure, I also want to show where our yard was when we first moved in to this house before showing the deck pictures (I had a retaining wall built and then sodded the entire back yard):



Here are the deck "after" pictures. They also happen to include some of where the yard is now. And yes, we are building a privacy fence and planting more trees at the back, probably next year. The leyland's we planted 2 years ago below the wall are already >2x as big as they were.







Since this was truly a solid color product, we wanted to keep some visual interest that we lost compared to stained natural wood. The two-tone aspect provided that for us. The grey we used is a very similar color to our siding and then we tried to choose a brown that complemented the grey but wasn't too stark of a contrast.

I know it's not for everyone and the pictures don't do it justice but it looks a LOT better in person and is actually functional now. All but the biggest cracks are mostly filled in.

[Edited on May 29, 2013 at 9:09 PM. Reason : ]

5/29/2013 9:05:02 PM

^ very nice!!

^^ yeah, you should have no problem hiding that warped post with the rail.

5/29/2013 10:06:52 PM

Looking good, guys

5/29/2013 10:39:47 PM

I like that two-toned look, kinda wish I saw that pic before I finished painting my deck rails today, I would've copied the idea!

I just finished up the deck Restore project today, spent about $200 on it, and six gallons of the Restore product, all for a 10x10 deck with 11 stairs. Took me about 15 hours, but I did all the work myself. I wound up having to do a little structural work to shore up the stairs, and then replaced six of the stair deck boards, but it looks a lot better.

The deck itself was easy, it was painting the damn rails and pickets that took so long. I took before pics, and I'll snap some afters tomorrow. For now I'm going to drink a few beers, smoke a cigar and watch the heat/pacers game

I would definitely recommend the Restore product though if you have weathered, splintering deck boards

5/30/2013 8:27:42 PM

Thanks man Glad your project seemed to turn out good as well. Seems like we had the same experience. Two coats on the deck went down very quickly. The darn spindles and handrails and other things took forever. I did the deck boards myself and still finished that in probably 1/5th of the time my wife and I took together to finish all the smaller items. The two-tone added to that though as we had to be more careful.

Now that we got the deck cleaned up, we just need to furnish it some. Picked up an old patio table from a neighbor who was going to throw it out. It just needed a good scrubbing. We also got an umbrella for it on clearance and some chairs as well as an outdoor rug ordered. Planning to try and make a big outdoor bench-seat out of of some lumber and either stain it or paint it to go with the deck colors. Should be MUCH cheaper than buying an outdoor patio sofa or something and I can make it larger as well - might even make it a "sectional" L for a better conversation setup.

Does anyone have any good suggestions for good potted evergreen shrubs? I'd like to get 1-2 evergreen shrubs on the deck. Something that could work well in direct sun and grows more columnar/not very full or wide.

[Edited on May 31, 2013 at 8:47 AM. Reason : ]

5/31/2013 8:31:03 AM

hopefully these pics will work - linking from facebook

BEFORE-







AFTER-

6/1/2013 2:30:46 PM

nice man. It will be interesting to see how the two competing products wear over time.

6/3/2013 10:17:41 AM

Quote :

"I would definitely recommend the Restore product though if you have weathered, splintering deck boards"

awesome, i was just going to ask about this

6/3/2013 10:32:11 AM

He used Restore from Lowes and I used DeckOver from HD. I believe they are very similar products and I had a good experience as well. So you have a couple options there.

6/3/2013 10:33:21 AM

I have a really long, tall living room wall, thinking about doing some sort of mod inspired paint scheme, like white with a light blue line/arrow going horizontally across about half way up... would look good with the clouds and sky outside the window with the arrow pointing to it

6/3/2013 12:26:09 PM

Well, don't take inspiration from Bigman, that's for sure.

6/3/2013 12:46:32 PM

My friend and I fenced in my backyard over the last 2 weekends.

Specs:
230' length
6' tall
Pressure Treated Pine
3 gates total (two 4' gates, one 6' gate made up of two 3' doors).
Material Cost - ~$1500 for everything delivered from Home Depot. Includes cement, 4x4 posts, 2x4 stringers, pickets, nails, and gate hardware.

Estimates from fencing companies (including Seegar) was about $4500-$5000 for the total job. So I saved roughly $3500.

The materials:



Work Day 1: Dig post holes with a gas powered auger. Cement in post holes.




Work Day 2 (6 days later due to incredible rain): Wife and I cut/nailed up the stringers




Work Day 3: Hang the gates and nail up all pickets








There's one small section of about 4-5 pickets that are a little higher than I'd like and will be fixing today, but otherwise if they look weird it's because my grass needs to be mowed



[Edited on July 8, 2013 at 12:40 PM. Reason : .]

7/8/2013 12:37:58 PM

^nice work!



Any advice/resources/etc. for refinishing a table? I have a 5' diameter solid wood kitchen table with a lazy susan. The finish color is dated (IMO) and damaged. I've never done any type of finishing. Not sure on the wood species either. I need to get some pictures and compare/ask.

7/8/2013 1:40:40 PM

I haven't done one myself, but search the /r/diy subreddit. There's a bunch of examples with people having pictures of each step.

7/8/2013 4:53:45 PM

^thanks.

This is Oak, right?

7/11/2013 9:12:37 AM

Just finished sealing/staining the front porch I pressure washed (pictured above). The wood is so old it has taken me about 4x the amount of Thompson's than I expected. Had I known that from the beginning, I might have considered replacing at least the deck boards (which I am going to have to do sooner than later anyway). Or I may have even considered flipping them before pressure washing. It wouldn't have cost me all that much more than I have spent on Thompson's.

[Edited on July 11, 2013 at 11:00 AM. Reason : a]

7/11/2013 10:57:58 AM

^^ looks like it to me, but admittedly, I have not read

7/11/2013 2:35:08 PM

Did this quick LED light install for a neighbor's kitchen at the lofts.

Before:

After:


Also, designed this today for a different neighbor to add a cover wall for a storage area above an enclosed pantry.





The walls are recessed in a few inches on each side for me to hide some LED's that shine upward and give a bit more accent light into the area. Should be pretty badass. Been getting a lot of handyman jobs from just word of mouth around my apartment building.

[Edited on July 29, 2013 at 5:27 PM. Reason : ]

7/29/2013 5:24:16 PM

Not a huge deal, but I figure I'll document it. I re-painted our front porch last weekend. Was showing signs of mildew and paint chipping. It's about 30 feet wide by 8 feet deep. Repainted the ceiling, header around the perimeter, six columns and all the rails and pickets white. It looks so much better, took about a day and $30 to do.

The pickets were a bitch to do towards the end, but I'm sitting out here now and am so glad I took the time to do it. One of those things you only need to do every 5-10 years, but it only took a day and makes the curb appeal a lot better

8/3/2013 9:41:11 PM

Had a few 2x4's and pickets left over from my fence project a few posts up the page. Decided to build a shitty little shed...too bad it had to go in the most uneven corner of my yard







I'll be staining my fence and the shed in a few weeks.

[Edited on August 4, 2013 at 3:27 PM. Reason : .]

8/4/2013 3:25:00 PM

kind of reminds me of that South Korea dude who built the most terrible shed with everything lopsided. hehe, at least the finished product on your's looks pretty nice considering you did it with scrap wood. nice.

8/4/2013 4:43:07 PM

Just got finished building an above ground/mobile irrigation system using normal below ground system equipment. Big thanks to NRR for the idea.

A little background: as most of you have read, I moved into a new house last fall and have about 1 ac of land. The soil is crap, but will grow grass,
if you put in some effort. My biggest issue was watering new seed - 1 ac is a lot of area to cover, I have water pressure issues (on a well),
and I work about 30 minutes away, so watering everything enough at the proper times was impossible.

I started to test hose timers... at $30-$45/timer, it was going to get expensive, and I quickly found that they aren't reliable. Not to mention, I'd have
to have several to keep up with (batteries, apparently they're bad for losing time, updating schedules, etc.). But thanks to NRR, he
suggested using a true below ground irrigation system, but just above ground with hoses.

So I did just that. The key for my situation was an easy, mobile, compact system. I made this a bit harder on myself by putting everything into 1
"watertight" box (controller, valves, piping). I wanted this so I could store it easily, but also grab it, connect the hoses, and go. It's truly a
pick up and go system.

Enough with talk; pictures and explanations:

6 zone controller; built a little stand out of scraps for it to keep it off the bottom
of the box (out of any water) and give me a good viewing/button press angle:



This is actual an orbit brand piece (didn't have rainbird in stock).
It's a rain and freeze sensor that will delay the cycles until the sensor has dried or temps are above 37F. Just used some scraps to make an elevated stand for it.




This is the system in the box, ready to go. Hose to PVC fitting is on the outside of the box; used 5 Tee fittings and 1 90 bend, with threaded nipples
into and out of the valves. The "out" nipples penetrate the front of the box. Sealed up each penetration with some caulk. While the valves can
be in the wet, I set them on top of a 2x4 in case any water does build up - I just think it's better to stay dry when possible. That, and having them
sit on the floor of the box would put the nipple penetrations too close to the box corner (cracking concern; I drilled 5 holes for the nipples with no
problems... and on the 6th one, the box cracked (I just put some caulk on the crack to seal it).



The system installed! Just running the one zone for now. (yes, I moved the rain/freeze gauge off the ac unit ). And yeh, another stand
made from scraps. You can see the crack in the box at valve 1... hope the caulking holds up.



I can give more detail if anyone is interested. This ended up costing about $40/zone for the irrigation equipment (compared to low end timers
at about $25/timer or mid-grade timers, at $40/timer). Adding up hoses and sprinklers, I averaged out to about $100/zone (6 zones) (with timers,
that would be about $75/zone). These addition costs are 6 sprinklers and about 1000' of hose, of which I may need more.

There are several more pictures in my gallery: photo_folder.aspx?user=21643&folder=House&filter=

8/4/2013 5:52:52 PM

i would put a couple drain holes in the bottom of the box. if you get a leak inside the box, it's gonna fuck your controller up.

8/4/2013 5:58:17 PM

^have 2 drain holes in the bottom.

8/4/2013 5:58:55 PM

ok, good deal.

the pics showed up at first, but now they don't. just post the thumbnails. i hate when folks post huge pics and make side scrollers.

8/4/2013 6:00:17 PM

yeh, i screwed up the html. I used the image tag first, forgetting that my pics turn out huge (like mine way up there). changed to html to change the width and screwed it up; both issues fixed now

8/4/2013 6:01:38 PM

i wonder what it would've cost to rent a trencher and just install a real system

8/4/2013 6:04:05 PM

I thought about doing an estimate, though I have the feeling it's a good bit more expensive. from what I saw, those inground sprinklers don't have very big radii, so lots of zones and lots of pipe, and possibly multiple controllers (15 zone is biggest I saw).

8/4/2013 6:09:02 PM

i'm on an acre lot. the system was already here when i bought the place. it has 2 zones: one for all of the front yard, one that covers the area near the house in the back. i'd say each zone probably covers almost 1/4 acre. you could DIY in a weekend for sure. poly pipe is easy to run.

8/4/2013 6:15:39 PM

Do you have really good water pressure or a separate pump for that system? I couldn't imaging doing half my yard on one zone with the water pressure I have.

8/5/2013 1:30:01 PM