Modern Deck Makeover
A few years ago we applied Behr DeckOver to our deck. This led to nothing but problems. 🙁 Not trying to trash talk Behr products…I LOVE their paint and use it all the time. However, when it comes to this particular product, after a harsh Indiana winter, I was not a fan. 🙁 But apparently, I didn’t learn my lesson, because I had my eldest son apply another coat on the deck the following summer. I guess I thought, maybe I didn’t apply enough on the first time and second time’s a charm. Not the case…the next summer-it was all peeling off AGAIN. 🙁
So, this summer, I took a different route. After perusing my Pinterest account for a little while, I found my product…SuperDeck by Sherwin Williams. While speaking to the salesperson at Sherwin Williams, I learned that DeckOver is not a good product for the Northern states. It does great in the South, but up north here, where the temps change drastically season to season, it doesn’t hold up well. Wish I would have known that a couple summers ago. Because, now came the daunting task of having to remove all of the DeckOver. 🙁
We removed as much as we could with a power washer…
The steps, leading down to the pergola, were the toughest…
I ended up using this paint stripper product by Klean Strip. It was the only product that would even come close to removing the thick DeckOver paint. And it still came off in little sections! What a job!
It probably wasn’t the best thing for my health, but I felt like since I was outside, it wasn’t as bad. Still wore a little mask though. If nothing else, it made me feel a little safer…..
After way too much elbow grease and several days at it, we removed as much as we were going to be able to…
Finally, it was time to paint! The first color of the SuperDeck Paint was comparable to the bottom of a pool…not really the look I was going for….
So, off to Sherwin Williams again. Only this time I played it safe and went with a color I knew…King’s Canyon. The same color we used for the body of our house this summer in our radical change-home exterior makeover. I love it up front, so why not use it on my deck makeover too!? Much better!
And so easy to apply! I used a roller with a long handle, after trimming out all of my edges. Definitely recommend the long handle. It will save your back! 🙂
We gave it two coats with a day of drying time in between, no foot traffic for 4 days and waited to move our furniture back 7 days. Probably much longer than necessary, but I’m really erring on the side of extra caution this time around.
Once we were able to walk on it again, I painted the trim of the windows and door, overlooking the deck, white…
Next came the best part of our deck makeover –decorating! I love this OpalHouse rug I got at Target! It was perfect for this spot….
We did have a couple “mishaps” along the way….
When moving my farmhouse table back up onto the deck, it completely fell apart. 🙁
The last 4 years of outdoor elements and moving it so many times, had loosened it up. We were hosting my family for dinner the next day, so I spent well into the wee hours of the night (with spotlights on), rebuilding and painting it. I made it to Home Depot right before they closed to purchase a couple sawhorses. A very simple way to make a table (or fix a table 🙂 ) in a crunch.
The other frustrating thing that happened? We had our outdoor kitchen re-tiled. Which was awesome and I love it! However, I was quite irritated with the mess that the tile guy left behind. Grout all over my deck. I ended up having to scrape and repaint several areas. Definitely not happy about that. 🙁
But once we got past those two annoyances, our deck became our summer hangout spot…
Got rid of our old rickety chairs and bought these metal chairs off of Amazon. I was shocked at how inexpensive they were! At that price, we ended up getting two sets…. (Amazon Affiliate Link)
Also sent my old plastic adirondack chairs to Goodwill and built these modern comfy chairs. Super easy to build and so much less costly than the $250 (each; on sale) ones I found online at Pottery Barn. These cost me $60 for two!! Go check out that easy tutorial here.
This winter will be the real test. I’ll be sure to reference back to this post in the Spring and give a follow-up report on how well the Sherwin Williams SuperDeck Paint held up. Fingers crossed, we won’t be doing yet another deck makeover next summer!!
Be sure to Pin It to your Pinterest Board for later…
Until next time,
Happy Building, Friend!!
Be sure to join my VIP List below and never miss an upcoming post.
Other great outdoor posts:
Modern Outdoor Chairs-Easy to Build and Affordable
How to Limewash Brick Exterior-A Complete Makeover
The Cheapest Way to Make a Flower Box
How to Build Board & Batten Craftsman Shutters
Craftsman Garage Doors-Get the Look Without All the Costs
