I've documented some of the landscaping challenges we've been working on the past 2 years.

We totally closed off the entire dog yard for all of last summer to let the new grass get a head start.

Tank was not happy, but worked out OK.

Last summer:

This summer:

A-Jay

I'm about to embark on my annual deck staining exercise. Have to replace another board too.

Will post photos before and after.

Phase 1 (yesterday): remove old board, replace, and power wash the deck

Phase 2 (early this morning): re-stain all horizontal boards

Phase 3 (after the stain): dry time

I started the staining around 7am this morning and finished around 9am before it got too hot. Most of the deck was also in the shade so I wasn't out there in the blazing hot sun.

I will embark upon this soon as well, although I may wait for the fall…

2 hours ago, VolFan said:

I will embark upon this soon as well, although I may wait for the fall…

I have to say, it's a pain in the rear. I can see why people go with composite decking. At some point I'll probably replace all the horizontal boards. For now though, most of them are still in good shape.

I needed a few days of dry weather that coincided with my own work schedule, otherwise I wouldn't have done it when it was so warm out.

I 100% understand- I did it two years ago in 98 degree temps. I thought I’d be done before the sun got too high and was sadly mistaken. Pressure washer and a good scrub brush do make it quicker and better though.

I feel your pain. I also strongly agree with the stain color😂 I just had a guy out to do my decks. Waaay too many for me to tackle. The guy I hired did a great job. The last guy didn’t even stain the boards facing away from the house. I had to have some boards replaced. I already replaced a big section of the rail on the lower deck that a branch took out. The new guy sealed the ends of all the boards and used a brush to get in between the boards before he rolled them. He also sanded and painted my foundation so he really earned his fee.

@gim - that looks awesome. Well done.

For anyone that needs to pressure wash a flat surface like a deck, concrete, or a fence, I highly recommend the karcher surface cleaner. For $100 they attach to your pressure washer and instead of dealing with spray all day it is like running the vacuum.