Painting an Outdoor Deck (Oasis): Final Results

After we purchased our new house, our initial project was not supposed to be what we are now calling the start of our “Outdoor Oasis”; however, after the first heavy rain (or so), it was apparent that the deck had to become a priority – the winter probably played a factor as well. The paint was peeling off, and we knew the cost of letting it wait would outweigh just getting started.

Here are photos from the real estate listing and website. You can see why we didn’t think this would be our first project.

Before: Real estate photos from the MLS listing.

Below: Here is a photo from shortly after moving in.

At first, we thought this would be a fast project. (I swear, we both think this way about our projects, until we start.)

First, my husband took the power washer to it right away. This part was free – minus the increase in the water bill. We already owned a power washer. (We don’t have a full picture of the deck just before starting, because he started so quickly.)

During (and after) power washing, we were really fortunate and had fantastic weather for drying out the deck for a couple of weeks. It was a bit humid, but it was so hot that we felt comfortable moving forward with choosing what to use to stain or paint the deck.

After a lot of online investigating, the consensus was that nothing could beat Home Depot’s Paint Stain called Advanced Deck Over by Behr.

I went into Home Depot alone, and I read the top of the can, and I bought one gallon to do the whole deck (I know – don’t laugh – that’s not even close to enough for our deck). Also, I purchased the extra textured roller to apply the Deck Over, but it did not work. It barely covered the deck with the paint, and it left a small spot very rough. I ended up painting with a brush by hand. (It took a long time.) At this point, the total for this project was $45 plus tax (and the extra water from the power washing).

Next, I had to choose a color from the Advanced Deck Over color options. I prefer cooler tones, and I wanted to eliminate the hint of red (warm color tone) on the deck, so I chose the color Padre Brown.

I had to try it right away. We were very happy with the choice of color, but we found out very quickly that rolling was not working.Its partially my fault for thinking the texture wouldn’t be very rough, but it was. If you want a rough texture, I’d use the roller at the very end as a final coat.

We did have to stop rather quickly because one gallon didn’t go as far as I’d imagined, and Behr’s instructions required two coats. With the weather we were having, it was drying rapidly as well. Luckily, Ryan found an amazing FaceBook Marketplace find (cabana), so after picking it up, we were close to a Home Depot, so we bought the 5 gallon option of Behr’s Advanced Deck Over. I used all of it to complete our deck that is nearly 24′ by 24′. Now, the total was nearly $150 plus the $45 from the day prior. The total was approaching $200 without brushes and paint trays (we just grabbed ours from the Dollar Store.)

Here are some Instagram photos I shared along the way:

Below: Choosing a color.

Below: Ryan’s FaceBook Marketplace find. (I did clean the cushions, and I wrote a blog about removing mildew from outdoor cushions as well.)

Below: The Deck is almost done!

Below: Kids and dogs made it take a little bit longer.

Below: You can see where I have finished a second coat versus a first coat.

Below: Getting very close.

Below: Finished!

Below: Very happy with the results!

Below: More plans coming together.Below: Don’t forget to check out the new outdoor lighting we chose, too.

Below: Check it out at night. We love it. I’ll share how we did the market lights in the next blog.

Thank you for following. I’d love to hear about your experiences with your outdoor deck staining and painting. I would highly recommend this as an important DIY for roughly $225 plus your labor to save and maintain your deck.