Tag: lake house

The back deck was just the beginning. ARyk and Bob set to work on the front deck and steps next. They got a little help from kaylee the cat as they stripped, sanded and stained the deck a beautiful mahogany brown.

Prep Work: Stripping and Sanding

The boards were naked and unprotected by the time Bob and Aryk were done powerwashing, then sanding off the old stain. Kaylee the cat helped.

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Staining

It’s a big deck and took several days, but the stain was a major transformation that woke up a tired deck.

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The finished deck

The finished product. Isn’t it beautiful?

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Footnote: Escaping Disaster

Bob wadded up the used rags from staining and tossed them together under the deck, by the wood pile. We were disturbed by a horrible burning smell hours later. We searched all over for the source, but then a neighbor knocked on the door frantically, crying, “Your rags are burning!” We quickly put them out, and discovered that the linseed oil in stain can cause spontaneous combustion in wadded-up rags. We learned to always lay the rags out flat to dry. We are lucky we didn’t burn the house down! Lesson learned: Always read the can for safe disposal information.

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Up next … Part 3, Repainting the House