The great deck refinish

After two years since its original staining, our deck was in need of some serious attention.

Our original choice of Behr Solid Deck Stain had held up well on the railings but had failed miserably on our high-traffic back deck.  The product has worked better on the floors of our covered side porch and our hardly-ever-used front porch.  After two years of weather, dog nails and summer enjoyment, the stain was peeled off in most places.

We wanted to use the same color, but we weren’t sure if we wanted to use the same product.  After talking to a super helpful Home Depot paint guy, we decided on the Behr Porch & Floor, which he was amazingly able to color match using a small paint chip that we had peeled off and brought to the store!

The awesome paint guy even printed off an extra label for me to save so that we can perfectly match the color again in the future.  Now I just need to decide which safe place to store it…

I can’t take any credit for the project from this point forward.  It was all Chris, and he has the sunburn and bug bites to prove it.  First he used our power washer and hosed down the area, removing dirt.  After a few hours of drying, he carefully sanded the whole deck.

With a four-inch paint brush in hand, he went to work.  After a few boards, the deck was already looking much improved.

And then, two coats of brown, 1 coat of white refresher and 24 hours later, the deck was looking entirely improved.

Now we need to get our furniture and grill back in place.  Then we can really sit back and relax!  Here’s hoping this paint job holds for more than one summer…

Have you tried any porch paint or stain?  Have you had to refinish?  Please share all the paint-chipping details!