Just to document this for my own use, here is an idea of what 4 weekend’s worth of work (ok not exclusively, but many hours ok?) looks like.

First, a screen grab from the Spaghetti Showdown a few weeks ago, with a good view of the deck, louvers and wall.

This was all washed and stained with Thompson’s Water Seal in the recent past.

This year I washed it with a pressure washer (don’t do this they say, and yes you have to be very careful or you will really take that wood apart), then with a deck wash product.  Finally, the stain.  A big difference in colour, for sure.

Let’s see how long it looks this good for…

P.S. if you haven’t figured out by now, this blog exists solely as a scrapbook for my failing memory.  When I wonder “when did I last stain that damn deck?” it will be right here.