This time the water was a welcome sight in our house. I never thought I would say that, with all the leaks we have had since moving in, but it is true.
Did I tell you my refrigerator is still leaking, but not every day. I just can’t figure it out!
When we moved in we knew the backyard was going to be our most used part of the house this summer. Completely held true. The Boy and I eat most of our meals on the deck, and sit on our laptops most nights on the deck. After a long day at work, in a stuffy office building, it is really relaxing to sit outside and get some fresh air.
Although our deck is nice, big, and in really great condition, it did have one flaw. Piles of leaves and grim filled the corners, and it was turning grey. You could tell it hadn’t been kept up over the past few years. In an effort to make it look nicer, we had cleaned up all the old leaves and piles of grim then rinsed it down real good. It wasn’t perfect, but looked better than when we moved in.
On our list of projects was renting a power washer and giving it a good once over, in hopes we could at least bring back some of the woods natural color. During a BBQ at our house recently, a family friend of The Boy’s, Ron, told us he had a power washer we could come over and borrow any time. We were super excited and were ready to jump at the offer. Being able to just borrow a pressure washer, rather than go through the hassle of renting one, sounded fabulous. The Boy and I were still trying to map out when we were going to be able to have time to clean the deck, when 3 days after the offer was made to us, Ron decided he was just going to come over and do it for us. Meet the wonderful Ron!
I was at my desk in the middle of a Wednesday when The Boy informed me that his dad and Ron where on their way to our house to wash our deck. Thinking The Boy had known about this plan for days, I lectured him for not telling me sooner- He quickly defended himself by saying he didn’t know either. They had just called him in route to our house. When we arrived home from work the two of them had been taking turns cleaning, and they were roughly 1/4 of the way done.
Wow did the pressure washer make a difference on our deck. The color instantly was brighter and yellower. No more gross grey, weathered looking wood.
Even the stones around our flower bed looked newly installed once they were blasted with some highly pressured water. You can tell in this photo that they just started on the side of the block, but there already was a big difference.
Who knew this pretty golden wood color was under there? The Boy and I were completely giddy about how the deck was looking. Still every time we walk onto the deck we comment on how great it looks all fresh and clean.
Ron and The Boy’s Dad did a great job. I can not thank them enough for just coming over and cleaning our deck for us while we were at work. As I do with everything, I tried to repay them in the only way I really know how. Food! We had a nice cook out on the deck post all the water spraying.
Now it is our turn to do something with the deck. As you will notice there are a few spots from the old stain still on the wood that will need to be sanded off, and then a nice coat of sealer to keep the pretty color all shiny and new. We decided we love the look of the clean wood so we will not be re-staining the deck to the dark color the previous owners had it, which hopefully will pan out to be less maintenance for us in the long run.
The new clean deck is completely Dewey approved too. I know you all were wondering.
Have you every power washed your deck? Any tips for maintaining this pretty, clean color of wood?