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Saturday 21 July 2012

Reviving A Deck On The Cheap!

After I finished working on the rental property redo, I planned on taking it easy.  I wanted to sit by the river and let the world flow by.  I did that for exactly two hours! As much as I like to have the river front look natural,  my deck was an unsightly mess!

It was a hodgepodge of the original deck and one I had the patio installer guys move back here with their Bobcat.  They cut it, moved it and plunked the two pieces down. ~


The old deck was stained brown and the other pieces were light blue.  Sorry, I started to stain before I remembered to take a pic.

The light blue deck was in some serious trouble!  It had been through a tornado and came out on the short end of that!  Here's how she looked before they moved her. ~


I think I only had about six readers when I wrote about the yard devastation, so you might want to catch up on that tale here.  You should save all your good stories until you have at least a dozen readers!

Now, I think I've mentioned a few hundred times that I'm a little skint for cash right now, so this spruce up has to be done on the cheap!

I paid two neighbouring teenage boys $70 to move all the pieces of deck together and level them out.  I should have paid them danger pay for the nest of bees they uncovered!

It took two gallons of stain, at $25.99 each, in a colour called Great Lakes Blue to unify the pieces. ~


I had to buy a few 2X4's to replace twisted boards. ~


The existing furniture were some of the most disreputable pieces you've ever seen! ~



Well, we all know you can fix that! I roped my sister into painting the chaise lounges and the chairs with some latex paint in BM mayonnaise.  I already had the paint, so no cost there.  Hey, I'm putting in boards and staining decks! ~


The cedar table got a coat of stain and an interesting decoration.  I'll tell about adding the picture in the next post. So far, we are free on the furniture! ~


My sister and I like to sit back here and read magazines.  Because we were interior designers, we called that part of our job. Somebody has to do it!  Since she's allergic to bees and I'm not wild about mosquitoes eating me alive, we needed a screened in area.  Gazebos don't survive the wind that comes off the river in stormy weather but kitchen tents will.  The cheapest I could find was $45.00 at Canadian Tire.  It just happened to be a good match for the Great Lakes Blue! ~


And, those hunks of wood I told you to keep your eye on?  They are the tops of guard rail posts that get cut off after the rails are installed.  My brother in law brought them to me years ago. ~  


A coat of light grey stain, some twine from hay bails twisted to look like rope and they become wharf pilings! ~


This is what was accomplished in two days.  I need to close in the area between the two decks to cover the supporting posts and the stairs to the dock need a coat of Tremclad but I now feel like I can honestly say ... ~


Oh, and the total cost with labour, materials and tent was under $200.00!!!

Next comes the fun part - the decorating!!!

I'm sharing this with:












17 comments:

  1. Maureen what a transformation! The deck is looking good, I love the grey stain. We are working on our deck as well (if and when it is not raining...which is never), thanks for the inspiration.

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  2. Looks very inviting. Lots of hard work but hours of relaxing space ahead.

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  3. Maureen that is one good-looking, well-deserved spot for relaxing! Funny that you couldn't rest more than 2 hours. I'm the same way once I get a plan in my head! How fun for you and your sister to work together and then get to relax together! I have an army of sisters and oh the things I could get done if I could just have them live closer!! Love the wharf-look and can't wait to see the decorating! I've been doing a little deck work here, but it's way too hot for staining or painting.

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  4. whoa! a huge transformation! it looks absolutely fantastic. now go grab a glass of white wine, stretch out and admire your handiwork.

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  5. Finally a project you work hard on that "you" get to enjoy! Letting everyone know, I saw this in person and it blew me away! I was sooo impressed with the transformation, especially the table. Fantastic! Way to go Maureen! xo wendy

    ps...you didn't show the dock ramp you stained as well in the blue...it all ties in with the upper deck (tweaking under my nose as I say "upper" cuz it's rich looking) :)

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  6. Maureen, this is remarkable...it reminds me of a cabin in my long ago past that I took my children to in the summer...fond memories. I know you and your sister really enjoy your time here.

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  7. Maureen, you waste time nor money. I love the blue stain and the deck looks new. xoxo, Olive

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  8. Wow! what a fantastic job. I was wondering about the BM Mayonnaise paint...was it specially formulated for plastic? I have some similar chairs...and oh lands! they've seen better days.
    Your deck looks lovely and I love the screened in area... do the mosquitoes come in from the bottom? I'd like to screen in the back deck here, but was thinking I'd need to put plywood down...to keep them from coming underneath.

    I'm new to your blog came here, via Sunny Simple Sundays, Pat

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  9. Thanks for stopping by, Pat! You can use any latex paint on plastic furniture. I've had it last a decade, left out in all weather, and it is fine. The furniture needs to be dull from weather for it to work, not shiny and new. It will scratch off if you stack them, but that seems to be all that will hurt it. Mosquitoes will come in the cracks of the deck and I'm working on a floor covering that will stop that. If you have access to your deck underneath, you can use a staple gun and put screening under to stop them.

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  10. What a deck redo. It is looking very nice, and at such a reasonable price. I love the stain color you chose. Hoping you will continue to enjoy it.

    Yael from Home Garden Diggers.com

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  11. This turned out wonderfully. I especially like the round table with the picture on it and the way you turned those posts into wharf posts. Ann

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  12. You did a great job redoing your deck. It looks wonderful and even better since you did it with such a thrifty budget!

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  13. It looks amazing Maureen - it seems you're addicted to hard work, but it's certainly worth it, how great to be able to sit and relax by the river !

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  14. It looks so relaxing and amazing, and what a difference, when are we having drinks, LOL. Great work, I love it.

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  15. Maureen ... love your restful place by the river. As usual, you accomplished so much with so little and you are such a hard worker. You deserve the rest. We just replaced out Gazebo and just hope it will withstand strong winds. Love your little Kitchen Tent ... first one I
    have seen. Mr. Z. would love that because he hates bugs and mosquitoes.
    Hugs,
    Audrey Z.

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  16. It looks like a wonderful spot to get away. I too hear you on the doing things on the cheap. About to start paying tuition for daughter #2 and this is always a strain. Life is so expensive these days. Thanks so much for linking up this week.

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  17. Beautiful. You are a ball of fire. Photos are looking terrific.

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