Deck Update

I was able to (in between raindrops) work on replacing the piece of decking that had a bit of rot on it.  I located a piece of leftover decking that I have stored in the shed that was just a few inches too long.  It was almost perfect.  I just needed to cut it to length and then make the notch for the railing post.

You'll recall this shot from the last blog entry.  I believe the cause of this was a broken nail to the right of the nail in the center.  It appeared to have broken off on installation and left enough of a hole to collect water over the years and created the rot.

The new piece installed.

I have just a little more railing to clean on the back deck, then the plan is to clean the decking on the two covered porches in preparation for oiling.

Mrs took a quick trip to Florida to visit with her mother recently, and I stayed home to be with the animals and was also able to get some work done on the exterior of the house.  We really need to paint the trim which needs to be cleaned first.  Unfortunately I didn't take a before picture, but I can assure you the gutters and trim were filthy.  While I was on a roll I cleaned the shingle siding as well.  Here on the north side of the house we get a lot of green buildup over time.  It's fairly easy to deal with.  Just spray on a bleach mixture and brush with a soft brush.  A coarse brush would take some of the stain off with it.

So, we're in good shape.  What we need now is to finish the prep work, buy the Australian Timber Oil and hope for a long stretch of dry weather - at least 5 days - to get the deck finished.