Thursday, July 15, 2010

Theme Thursday - Help: Wash my Deck

I was stumped for a photo to fit the theme "Help" until my son David gave me  the perfect one.  


I built a deck just behind my house about 8 years ago.  I built it out of pressure treated pine and it has held up very well except for  normal weathering.  Recently I extended it past the back door to make it more accessible.  The result is very pleasing except that the new wood and weathered old wood do not match. We have decided to coat everything with a wood preservative to make it uniform and extend its life.  Before we do that we need to scrub the weathered wood to allow the preservative to adhere properly.



David has a portable power washer that he was kind enough to bring over.  He even offered to wash it for me in exchange for dinner.  I sat in a comfortable chair and watched supervised as he did all the work.  To my great surprise the wash removed all the weathering and dirt and left the wood looking almost like new.

We will let it dry thoroughly for 48 hours then apply a preservative wood treatment with roller and brush.
It is tempting to use a clear treatment to see the color of the wood but the experts say that such treatments need to be repeated every year.  A coating with pigment should last 5 or 6 years before it needs to be reapplied.  This morning we bought a 5 gallon bucket of Home Depot's finest in "Harbor Gray".  After it is given two coats it will really look nice.
I will report back when the project is finished. All I can say to David is thank you for your HELP!

18 comments:

Sharon's Mum Anne said... [Reply to comment]

That looks lovely but you know, that's what sons are for:-) Look how you've fed and watered him over all the years, now he can help his Dad. My son is my personal computer repairer, high light bulb fitter and all those niggly little things one cannot quite manage as one gets older. It's called give and take :-)

Julie said... [Reply to comment]

Bravo David! i am so glad that you helped your Daddy.

Now just help daddy return his text to it usual size ...

Unknown said... [Reply to comment]

Now Julie - To wrap text around those photos I either had to come up with a lot more text or increase the font size. I am already too wordy so I went for the big font.

tony said... [Reply to comment]

Well Done David! The Project Looks Good! I Love Power Washers!!!!

Yogi♪♪♪ said... [Reply to comment]

That is a very very nice deck. Son David is a very nice guy also.

DrillerAA09 said... [Reply to comment]

That deck looks like a great place to spend a summer evening, or any evening for that matter.

Lesley said... [Reply to comment]

Thank you for helping me to read this easily with the large font!
(I am guilty of using a small font on my posts though, so I shouldn't say anything, shshsh)

I'd say you did well in that exchange of help!

word verification was 'floss' - seems like that power wash did a good job flossing your deck!

EG CameraGirl said... [Reply to comment]

You have a good son! He did a great job.

Roy said... [Reply to comment]

The deck looks great after the power wash. And of course, Sharon's Mum Anne is right - that's what your kids are for! Heh, heh.

Lois said... [Reply to comment]

What a difference!

RA said... [Reply to comment]

Such a lovely deck. The result was well worth the effort. :)

Francisca said... [Reply to comment]

Nice deck. Nice to have help.

Elleona said... [Reply to comment]

Bravo ! merci à David...
Bisous de France

Leeuna said... [Reply to comment]

You have a beautiful deck and you must be very proud of your son. It's not always the case that kids help their parents out that way. You should feel blessed, which I'm sure you do.

Anonymous said... [Reply to comment]

Nice. Deck looks great! A son with a power washer; that's some good help, eh?

Also, although I rarely notice the need for such, I appreciate the big text. That HELPS!

Me said... [Reply to comment]

You know you've raised your son right when he offers his help up so freely. Nice TT. :)
-C

PS...mine is

HERE

michael said... [Reply to comment]

What a great son. Certainly "helping" photos.

Baino said... [Reply to comment]

Lovely deck and it's amazing what these Karcher/Gurney things can do. I'll be breaking mine out in spring to remove the moss from our retaining wall. Such fun! I know, I'm a woman who likes power tools, what can I say! As for help from sons? ? I'd be lost without the assistance of mine, he's a gem.