home improvement – Garden Rat

Shed Floor & Walls

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 WolseyLeave a comment

Well, we are at the point where I have the floor and walls done.

First, the floor is done, primarily. With self stick tiles there is always a chance a few of them will bow and bubble. We’ve had uncharacteristic 90F days, and it did loosen some of them. I will be using a dab of liquid nails to keep them down. That’s worked for me in the past with no issues. I lived for 7 years in a double wide trailer on a floor I put tiles like this down this way, and it looked the same when I moved out as when I put it in.

Doing a basket weave pattern with the flooring was perfect. It really hid the cheapness of the tiles. Honestly, this was an easy installation. I did have to wear knee pads as my knees can’t take floor work that easy, but I am happy with how it came out.

The walls? That was more frustrating. Apparently you need some H channel to put paneling up, so it slots each side of the touching panels together. The H channel available at Lowes where I bought this paneling, is not for this kind of paneling, but a slightly thinner white bathroom panel. I spent days searching every corner of the internet, and I couldn’t find it. I even tried that H channel with these paneling to see if I could retro fit it between the panels. No dice.

Instead I looked for any surface stick option. I tried stick on molding. It did not stick. I tried stick on edging for MDF shelving. It did not stick. I tried superglue to help any of these options to stick. It did not stick. I used 99% isopropyl alcohol on the seams, but even so, nothing stuck.

At this point I was sure that the surface of the cheap paneling I was using was some sort of secret non stick material that NASA should be notified of. Even epoxy did not stick to it. Literally nothing stuck on the long vertical lines where the two panels met. I tried everything.

After some hair pulling and soul searching, I reminded the inner evil voice of my father that likes to tell me I am screwing up, that this was just a fucking shed, so we were going the full cheap garbage route on this. The only way to fix this the “right” way, was to rip the paneling down, recut it to ensure the edges lined up with the 16 on center studs. However, I don’t own a table saw, and the perfect line up would be impossible and there would still be an issue, likely worse where the two edges me.

Instead, I used the only item that stuck to the paneling. White Gorilla brand duct tape. No other brand of duct tape would stick. I ran a line of duct tape down each join, imperfect as it was, and then a line of duct tape along the base for the cheap stick-it molding to adhere to.

This worked. I then added the big white roll of fake molding that you usually see self-stuck in bathrooms and kitchens in cheap rentals.

*With duct tape on wall seams and the bottom trim.*

While this is certainly not the right way to do things, it is a way to do it. Once I have the shelves, the circus tent top and the artificial ivy and flowers in there, I think it won’t be as noticeable. What it does do is keep things together and that Gorilla duct tape is literally the only thing on this planet that stuck to the surface of that paneling.

In all honesty, nobody is going to see it but my wife and I, and as a place to put a workout machine, a workout bike, and some storage shelves? It’s okay. I’ll live with it.

Shed Progress

June 28, 2025 Wolsey1 Comment

Things have been coming together the last few weeks. My wife and I have kept on moving forward with the shed progress. I wish my garden was doing as well as my shed.

The wall insulation took us two days. I cut all the insulation to size from the rolls, and put it in and my wife followed me with the staple gun and stapled it in. We had to do it into two days because all the bending and place for a couple of partially disabled people was like doing an endless series of burpees. However, it went in perfectly fine. The insulation is made to fit into a 16 on center bay so it’s not a hard job at all for a DIYer.

What I found shocking was just how much the sound from the freeway we live by was deadened by the insulation. Like damn. It also kept the sun from heating the shed up too much. I am sure it will be appreciated in winter.

This is all of the wall insulation in. I used Tyvek tape to tape the seams that didn’t have side insulation flaps, where we cut it thin. I also used the Tyvek tape to cover any holes we accidentally punched in the vapor barrier because we are clumsy.

I was really sweating the paneling stage. I had never done it before, and I am reflexively nervous about power tools no matter how often I use them.

Turns out it was pretty easy if you have two people, and one of them is over 6 foot tall. I cut the panels to size, and we positioned it in place, and my wife staple gunned the top and I did the bottom.

I had to cut a few inches off each panel because the walls are just a hair below 8 feet tall. I cut the top off one, and used the off cut as a template to cut the rest. These super thin paneling sheets could not support their own weight on the saw horses so I had to cannibalize some of my spare wood bits from the other shed to make it work.

You will notice the seams are visible. I didn’t buy any H channels for the joins, as I didn’t realize I needed them? I had never done this before. I should have, but nope. I did not. I am still working out the joins and will probably use a self sticking 7/8″ edge band if I can get it to work. I am waiting for that to come in.

One thing that really did help was a rotozip tool. I bought a Dewalt rotozip tool (No links here are affiliate links. Just what I used.) and a ten pack of paneling cutting bits. That was amazing. I was able to just put the paneling over the window, and use the rotozip to just cut around the outside. Same for the door. I just put the paneling up, and put the rotozip on the outsize molding of the door, and boom! I was able to just cut it like butter. Highly recommended if you are going to use paneling for anything. Also, get the H channel molding for between panels. Don’t be me.

Next step is the flooring. I am just using Floor Pop brand self sticking vinyl tiles. I know these are cheap, but it’s literally just a shed. I used to live in a double wide trailer and we did this across the interior because the 1960s shag carpeting was a disaster and we were poor. They actually did a great job, and held up really well. Better than my current house vinyl floor that is slowly failing, that cost the previous home owner more.

To do this right, I first rolled on a clear coat of pre installation primer adhesive. I was worried the chip board would not be a good surface to stick to. I used Henry Liquid indoor primer. I have never used that before, but you just roll it on. It is white and watery, but dries clear in a couple hours. Very recommended. It didn’t feel sticky or weird, but it kind of sealed the wood and let the vinyl tiles stick very effectively.

I also used DAP Floor patch and leveler after watching a DIY Tiff YouTube video where she uses it on her floor when she redoes it. They are the cutest tiny DIY couple ever. I love watching her progress on her house.

The green boards in the picture above had some big chunks missing from the install that would have made the thin vinyl tiles funky, so filling it worked well. It takes 6 hours to dry, so I started the rest of the flooring and that took all my working ability for the day.

To do these vinyl self stick tiles right, you have to be on top of the dust issue. I swept every few rows, and then kept a dish rag with me, and before I placed a tile, I would sweep it of any possible debris of dust with the dish rag. Then I would really wedge the edges together and kind of roll the tile into place. Then I used a floor roller to really make it adhere. The floor roller is cheap and worth your money. I also kept a hammer to pound down nails that stuck up a bit too much.

I chose to do kind of a basket weave with these stick-it’s because if you run the tiles in the same direction, it doesn’t quite line up, and looks cheaper than if you do it as a basket weave.

I do plan to fix the tall end corner bits on the wall with the vents, but I don’t have any 2×4’s on hand. I’ll just wait on that bit until the second shed is in, and I order supplies for it, so I can pay the Lowe’s deliver fee just a single time. I have to create a 16 on center 2×4 situation up there so I can insulate that as well.

Overall, I feel like this is really starting to come together. I still need a ramp to the door, and to do the gravel around the outside as a boarder, and the panel joins and corner molding bits. However, this is coming to a close and I can see the project’s finish in sight.

Philosophically, this is a different kind of house project from what I am used to. When I was much younger, I’d have had this done in a couple of weeks. I’d have spent 12-16 hour days just plugging along, but now my body doesn’t let me.

That is kind of forcing me to accept my limitations. Like yesterday I started the flooring, and I didn’t feel like I did much, but boy howdy did I feel being on the floor that long. I’ll just keep plugging along and eventually it will be done.

Ceiling Insulation

May 31, 2025May 24, 2025 WolseyLeave a comment

My first impression of insulating a ceiling is that the damn insulation is so expensive! The R13, 23 inch wide insulation was $126.50 for 11 bats. I had to buy two. That was the most expensive item on my interior list of supplies. By comparison the 15 inch insulation that is 32 feet per roll was only $31.87 per roll. The funniest part was when I was trying to find a source for this, every post I found was of some other person complaining about the price. I guess I am in good company.

The good thing is I only used half the second package so I only have to buy one more for the back yard workshop shed we are planning for last summer.

My second impression is this is more of a two person job. While it likely could be done solo, it’s really hard to get the bat of insulation above you, stuffed between the joists, hope it stays, then try to staple it. That’s a lot.

My wife and I worked together. She is taller and it was easier for her too stand on a step ladder and get it started and feed it to me on my scaffolding. I waffled on buying the scaffolding but for $99 it was worth it. It will come in handy when I fix the house ceilings where the previous owner didn’t use drywall tape and the joins are all cracking.

We were careful not to impeded the soffit vents, or the ridge vent at the top, but just kept it secured to the outside of the joists. We discovered the 8′ bats of insulation got us over the ridge vent area, and down the other side. I have seen YouTube videos of people doing it every which way, so I didn’t think it would be a big deal to just do it the way we did, then patch in a short bit on the other side.

Since we had such issues with the hammer tacker and our weeny arm strength last time, we used an electric staple/nail gun. I got it on sale for half price, and it was the hero tool of the day. (None of these are affiliate links. I just liked the products.)

I thought it would be annoying dealing with a cord, but it was so much faster. My only gripe is it didn’t hold enough staples at one time. I also had to use an electric one as I am not set up for pneumatic tools.

Within two hours we had all the insulation in.

That afternoon we noticed immediately that the shed did not heat up as hot from the sun hitting the roof. That’s impressive. Insulation is so worth it.

I did come back and use some tyvek tape to tape the seems on the joined bits of insulation. We overlapped a tiny bit, and I tucked the white fiberglass in, and taped the brown paper to keep our paper barrier intact. I also taped the holes in the paper from delivery. This worked well as I could feel a small breeze in the join, and that killed that problem.

Overall, the ceiling insulation was the hardest bit for us to complete. That is likely due to our own physical limitations. It’s slow going as we can’t do much at a time, but we are getting there.

Next will bet the walls. I don’t know how much we can do in a day, but it will certainly be easier because we don’t have to reach over our heads.

Insulation Baffles

May 24, 2025 Wolsey1 Comment

My wife and I started insulating the ceiling of the shed. This was the hardest so far physically for both of us. I am not sure I could have completed it easily if she wasn’t 6’2″ tall with “monkey arms.”

I can only do a few hours of work each week. I mean, if my body was fine, I would do more, but neither my wife or I am in good enough shape that we can do much more. I miss being in my 30s and being able to do a full 8 hours of physical work without being in pain for the next day, and being in bed for the next two.

The first order of business was the ceiling baffles. We got the shed option with a ridge vent. There was a bit of a mix up on the types of venting we needed, so we had a ridge vent and a gable vent. I did not realize the gable vent was on the sides of the shed. I will actually close that in because it’s not needed. Instead I used a 2″ hole cutter on my drill and went around and drilled out 2 holes in each bay of the soffit.

*Holes in the soffit that I cut for venting.*

This was harder on my shoulder and collar bone than I would like. It’s at an angle and I no longer have the physical strength to really power through. It only took me a half hour, but it was physically a lot for me.

I don’t have pictures but I didn’t have any drop in vents for it, but I did have some left over replacement window screen, so I cut that and used some liquid nails to glue them in place. Very cheap, effective, and nobody is gonna see anyways. I will have to touch up the paint around the holes though as I had drill drift on some of them.

We opted for 2×6″ joists to fit the baffles and the insulation. My wife actually had to do the majority of the baffle work because again, I am short and it was just easier for her.

While she did that, I glued the screens in place, added puffy foam around the windows and doors, and generally did everything but put the baffles in. I did not have a handle on the expansion of the insulation “doors and windows” puffy foam, and made a mess. I will have to cut that down later.

*Puff foam overextending and making a mess!*

As a side note we used a hammer tacker for this. It was the only device I had with staples short enough not to punch through the roof sheathing. It worked all right, but 1) it took a hot minute for me to figure out how to load it, and 2) asking two unfit people to use this device was hilariously hard. It was really hard at an angle, above our heads, to swing with enough force to make it work. I followed my wife with a hammer when needed to sink the stables.

In all, we got it in, and feel really good about it. We were careful to not put the baffles down too low, so that would flow from the soffit vents up along the roof to the sheathing.

I think, for two half broken Middle Ages people, we did a pretty good job. I am super proud of my wife, as she doesn’t normally do house fix it stuff, but she did a great job at getting it all in.

Shed Paint

May 20, 2025May 15, 2025 WolseyLeave a comment

Remember when we got a shed put in our front yard?

We had to paint it within 60 days to make our warranty. We chose a nice blue with white trim.

The first step was caulking, which became a mini whirlwind of disaster for me.

*Caulking on seams and nail holes. Remember NOT to caulk under the windows so water can get out.*

I bought two paintable silicone caulk tubes off Amazon, and unbeknownst to me, they were old and stiff. It was a new product, so I didn’t know caulk could go off, so I assumed it was just stiff? The problem of being self taught DIY is sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know.

First, this became an issue as I forced it from the tube, as my wife was not strong enough to do it. That was a mistake physically for my half disabled self. I hurt my right shoulder and bicep so bad! Ouch! It took me days before I could move my right arm right.

Then came the self doubt. We looked it up, and found sometimes caulk that is old like this does not cure. Oh no. . .

The problem when you have a disability is that it’s not just fine, and you can rip it out and do it again. It’s not fine, because you pushed your body to the brink to get it done the first time, you are in pain, and you know another full day of ripping it out will do the same. Then you have to do the same work over again, again in pain. That also means you have to schedule it out farther as your body can only do so much at a time.

Luckily for me, we put off painting for a week to see if the caulk would actually cure, and it did. (My body also was up and running again, so yay!) I left a 1 star review on Amazon, which I never do, and moved on with my life. I had been so freaked out that I had failed.

I blame that caulk for giving me some insights into my anxiety around getting things done, which while was useful in therapy, was not a fun revelation. Also, thanks Dad! Love that your freak outs about house improvements could make an appearance in my psyche at age 53. Love that. . .

Anyways, it turned out okay and the next week we were set to paint.

*Roller nap was not thick enough to get into the paneling grooves. Ignore the “grass” as it’s 90% dandelions and won’t exist in the end.*

I had bought a thicker roller to try and account for the grooves, but no dice! We had to cut into every groove on the shed. I have a second shed coming in August for the back yard, so I will try to find better rollers by then.

My wife and I worked together and it didn’t take terribly long. Longer than my body liked, but in the scheme of things we got it done pretty quick.

*Blue paint done, except for touch ups.*

I had to wait a week to do the trim because I was sore again.

I took the opportunity to hit some spots in the stupid panel grooves that didn’t get covered to my satisfaction. The trim took about an hour or so, and when I went out to check, I spent a half hour to put a second coat on. It looks so nice with the trim painted. I mean, I knew it would, but I was still unprepared for how nice, and how happy that would make me.

It’s always amazing to me that it takes so long for the first coat and so much paint, but the second one takes a fraction of the paint and is done in minutes.

My biggest issue is now my house looks really dingy next to the shed. I might have to figure out how to afford getting that painted. It’s likely too expensive for me this year, though.

This was the point where I could really see the shed idea coming together. I still have to insulate and panel the inside, slap down some flooring, and build a ramp, but it’s really working. We will have an exercise space and storage. It’s really happening.

As an aside, the door knob is pretty cool. I got a pin activated one off Amazon. (Not an affiliate, I just liked this one.) I guess to get the supper upscale features I need a hub, but I don’t need those. I am not an AirBnB, just some guy that doesn’t want to worry about his keys when he works out.

I liked it so much I added an identical model to my house’s back door. Very easy to put in, and it worked immediately. This solves the issue from a few months ago where I accidentally locked my wife and I out of the house. I mean, thank god I had my lock picks in my wallet so I could get back in, but having a back door pin will at least mean we can’t ever be locked out. It’s not like we have family or any close friends in town, so being locked out would be an expensive locksmith call.

This weekend, body willing, I am going to try and do the insulation on the ceiling bits.

New Shed Projects

May 14, 2025May 15, 2025 Wolsey1 Comment

I have two problems. My home is only 899 square feet and my wife and I want to work out at home, instead of a gym because my wife is visibly transgender and in the current political climate that is not great. Even if the bluest of blue areas, we run into people that have taken this new political attack on trans folks as open season, carte blanche, to just be the shittiest humans ever. I also hate going to the gym, as it’s a lot of hassle, even thought I am read as cisgender as a man.

Those two issues combined mean we decided to have a large, 10′ x 20′ shed in our front yard, with a second identical one replacing the back yard shed so it can be a workroom and have more storage as well.

We looked up local codes, and since we are in an unincorporated area, the county codes say we can have any freestanding shed up to 200 square feet. We got an email back after pestering them confirming this. My biggest fear was doing all this and having to have it ripped down. However, it looks like as long as we have a 3′ setback, we are good. We went with 4′ so we can do a gravel “moat” around the shed, eating up more grass I don’t want to mow.

We decided to have a local place, South Sound Structures, do the work. We got quotes from several people, but honestly this place was in the ballpark and had far more options, including a normal house front door we could put an electronic pin lock on.

All said and done, the shed was $7,944.67. This included the house grade door, two windows, under floor insulation, 2×6″ rafters, and ridge vents. It also includes a 5 year warranty as long as it’s painted within 60 days. That’s not terrible, really, considering I am old and broken and that level or work would take a year of “healthy” days for me. That also includes a $300 off for something or other, but I think they do that on all their invoices.

On 4/21/25, Matias and friend showed up, and damn if they didn’t have that shed done in record time. They didn’t take all day to do it. They come with everything pre-cut, and just assemble it. I was watching on and off all day from inside, and they did everything 110% right. I saw no shortcuts, or half assed work at all. I was relieved as the last contractor situation we had did not go great.

I know the pictures are behind glass, but I didn’t want to make the workers uncomfortable by always running out there to take pictures.

I was honestly impressed that with only two people they got it done so fast.

*Like it only took a few hours and they got it up!*

I am seriously gobsmacked by how fast and efficient they were. Plus, 10′ x 20′ is a huge amount of space, and enough for something like a Bowflex, a bike, and some free weights, plus some seating and shelves for kitchen overflow storage.

One of the things I did not expect to like was that it completely obscures the view of the constant traffic in and out of the house across the street. Sometimes folks that live there would just like stand in the doorway and watch into our windows and it made us so uncomfortable I put in privacy film in all my windows.

Now it’s like my front porch feels like a safe little oasis. We can sit on it, and enjoy it, and not feel like folks are constantly staring at us. The shed is taller than a fence, so it’s great. When we eventually get the 6′ fence put in, we will have a lot of privacy then. I prefer we are safe in our own little world where folks don’t stare at us and judge my wife for being visibly trans.

So far, it feels so worth the money. Painting is next, then insulation, and paneling and flooring. Finally my gravel moat, and a small entrance ramp. Then I can move in exercise equipment and whatnot.

Bathroom Drywall

January 20, 2025 WolseyLeave a comment

Well, with my wife’s cancer health scare behind us, and my health being more reasonable these days, I am starting to work in things again.

I managed to drywall the hole in my bathroom wall from the HVAC install months and months ago. I was pretty intimidated by the idea of drywall work, but I watched a few YouTube videos, and got the strapping in and the drywall up.

*Drywall hung and first bit of joint compound added. I used a brown construction paper to shield the other side.*

It was actually easier than expected. What really helped is I own a multitool and was able to cut the old drywall back to where it made sense and could allow me to drill the new stuff into the studs. I made sure to use the natural clean edges of the drywall to where they hit the opening. I used 150 grit sandpaper between to just knock things flat. I am inexperienced so it was easier to build it up and then sand it down. The 150 grit made it quick work, and I was ready in minutes. Clean up was a bit messy, but fine.

I also used Fibafuze instead of paper tape. It’s a fiberglass tape. It was so easy to work with, but I recommend gloves because of the glass bits in the fiberglass. I used duct tape to get all the splinters out of my fingers after. I just stuck the tape to my skin where I felt it, and eventually it lifted them out. Despite that oversight, I would use fibafuze again. It make really easy smooth joints.

*Finished joints in the drywall with an orange peel texture over it.* There really isn’t any lines between the new and old, but the camera seems to think there is.

I used the same orange peel texture that is over every wall in the house, and it disguises my imperfections. It’s all done, and ready for paint.

I thought I had a bit of leftover paint from the previous owner, but it was a solid puck of acrylic when I opened it. Apparently 2.5 years have gone by since we bought the place, and time does that.

I probably won’t paint until we get the mirror area fixed above the sink. This place was built for a very short elderly lady, so the vanity mirror is very low. I am 5’6″ tall and I am at the very top of the mirror. My 6’2″ wife has to stoop to see herself.

What’s stopping me is the lighting is also right on top the vanity mirror. I need to get an electrician to move the light upwards towards the ceiling because I just don’t fuck with electrical. I have a quote for $454 to move it up where it should go by the ceiling. I’ll pay it just to not fuck with electrical.

Then I will have to rebuild the vanity, and I can install a sink cabinet that isn’t so low my wife has to bend over.

That’s a long way to say I’m not painting and finishing the wall right now.

All in all, though, I feel like I conquered drywall. Am I an expert? No. Can I do it well enough to be happy about it? Absolutely! Even better, I have enough leftovers I can patch anything that comes up now and not have to worry about it. Having the tools on hand really makes a difference.

Gazebo and Downspouts

July 27, 2024 Wolsey1 Comment

We have had a helluva time here this year. I had surgery surgery, then my wife had an emergency hospitalization, where we were told she had cancer, shelf sign, which is a sign for metastasized cancer, and two docs and a surgeon told us to prepare for the worst.

However, my wife is okay, and pathology came back in our favor. No cancer! However, she has to have surgery and remove her gallbladder, and let’s just say the last 6 months have been a lot of worry!

This means I never did get my garden up and running, but I have still been picking at my projects. Yesterday I finished the gazebo on the front deck.

The problem is that we live in the Pacific Northwest and we don’t have a covered entry. It rains a lot here so coming in from the car with groceries, or home from work, you get poured on while trying to get in.

A cheap canvas pop top awning just won’t work here because we live in a windy tunny of land and it’s a rare day we don’t have at least a breeze, and it picks up suddenly and anything canvas will be ripped to shreds very shortly. I tried it on the back deck, and it lasted two seasons.

Instead I found an aluminum roofed gazebo on Amazon. (Not an affiliate link, just what I used.) Its normal price was somewhere around $1400 to $1600, and my Camel Camel Camel website alert let me know last spring it went on sale for $799. Sale gazebo was a go! I bought it, and got the initial frame done before my own surgery in March.

It took me forever to heal, and I knew the roof was going to be a pain in the butt so I procrastinated. Well, procrastinate no longer! I got the roof up. It was every bit a pain in the butt as they said, and I gave up and re-drilled a few holes because they just wouldn’t line up for me no matter what kind of trouble shooting I did. That seemed to do the trick, and it’s up and done.

The good thing was this company makes really good products. They gave me extra hardware for everything, and it’s sturdy and feels like real quality. It should last quite a while.

*Closer shot of the finished gazebo highlighting my door decisions.*

You might notice that while it’s 8 feet tall, it dips down on the edges by the front door. I decided to remove my screen door, because it’s not a huge value to me over having a covered porch option. I mean, sure, that’s a little janky, but it works out fine.

My next steps are to get a storage bench instead of the blue tarp wrapped potting bench to hide packages in, and a couple chairs and a table. Oh, and a few bird feeders. We really like those.

Next on my agenda was the down spouts. I have two, that have been cut off short, and dump right into my foundations. I needed a temporary solution so I opted for some cheap extenders.

When I looked at it, it appeared like the spout was cut short, and that isn’t great for water management on the property. This one in the picture is in my gravel driveway. Ignore the carpet of weeds. There’s a bare inch of gravel with no weed barriers and it needs to be redone. We are waffling on returning this area back to the back yard when we no longer have to park a Kia Soul back there because of theft risks.

This was a cheap option to get us through until we can make decisions on how to do a more permanent fix. Putting in a drain and whatnot is likely, but I have to wait until we know what we are doing with the area.

Not a huge amount done, and I am sorely missing my garden, but things are being slowly improved around here.

Unexpected Deck Repairs

July 4, 2024June 29, 2024 WolseyLeave a comment

It alls started with a gazebo that went on sale on Amazon. We don’t have a covered porch, and we can’t use an awning because we are in a funny little windy area, so fabric awnings just shred. I thought it would be nice to have a covered area for packages, and trying to get my keys out, so I started watching the $1500 gazebo, and last winter it went on sale for $800. I bought it instantly.

We started putting it together, then realized that the deck was a disaster. It was made with lumber that, as far as I can tell, was never stained or painted. This meant every time it rained, which is a lot here, the wood would swell up, and moss would grow on it, and in winter it would freeze into an ice rink.

We got as far as putting the gazebo frame together, before we realized it would be harder to move it around with the roof on if we wanted to fix the deck, so we paused and I started looking for a solution to our crumbling deck.

*Close up of the railings showing how bad the wood was.*

*Another close up of the bad deck wood.*

We just got a HVAC installation for our new heat pump to the tune of $26,000, so there is no way we could get a new deck put in. It’s not happening until the HVAC is paid off because we are broke!

Then I saw this YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eQhrVbOp_4&list=WL&index=11

This guy had a 30 year old deck that looked about as bad as mine, and he used a product called Restore-A-Deck. Not an affiliate, just the product in question.

I figured the $300 kit they sell was a lot cheaper than a new deck and decided to take the risk on it.

It’s got a few steps.

Pressure wash the deck.
Scrub the deck with the deck cleaner solution.
Rinse
Spray it down with the brightener solution.
Rinse
Apply 2 coats of stain.

I did the first 5 steps in one day, then the last staining step in another day, a week later.

After the first cleaning and prep for the steps I was shocked at how clean the deck was.

*Cleaned steps. (Ignore my sophisticated package hiding potters bench with the blue tarp.)*

No amount of scrubbing, power washing, or brightening got rid of all the staining and dark spots. It appears a lot of the staining was there to stay. However, I was shocked at how clean it did get. I never expected it to look even that good. It gave me a lot of hope that the products would work.

I took another step and used 80 grit sand paper and sanded the top of the railings because they were in such terrible shape. That was a quick job, and I am glad I did it. I also used some wood filler on some of the cracks, but unlike the guy from the video, the wood filler stained up with the wood and didn’t stand out much more than any of the other weird stains.

I finally picked a day without rain, and stained it. It took forever to do the railings. The first coat took me 1.5 hours to do the rails, and 30 minutes to do the actual deck board application. The second coat took half the time because not so much stain soaked into the wood.

The results were stunning.

It’s got some spotting and streaks, and dark spots that never came out to begin with, but it looks 1000% times better. I am sure a professional without a failing set of collar bone joints could have done way better, but I don’t think most folks will notice at all.

Additionally, the wood no longer feels raw. It feels like there is a water proof coating on it. It feels nice to touch, and no longer will give you splinters.

Even better, I only used half the supplies to do this, so I have enough do to the tiny back deck as well. . . In a month or two. . . When I am no longer hurting from this project.

My hope is I get at least 5 years out of this, and push the replacement down the road. It will have to be replaced eventually, but stalling for time will get us out of debt for the HVAC.

This means we can finally put the roof on the gazebo and have a rain free space to sit, get our keys, and get our deliveries. I even plan to put a couple chairs and a table out so my wife and I can sit and drink coffee (me hot chocolate!) in the mornings.

Non-Update Update

May 20, 2024 Wolsey2 Comments

Well, not much is getting done. I might miss this season for gardening. After surgery I had a lot of recovery time, then I had to work on getting my garden cage squirrel-proofed, and that is a lot to do.

I haven’t even tried to plant without these protections in place because the squirrels are literally digging up my beds constantly. It’s never ending.

My garden plan is to finish the hoop house, and see if I can put some late crops in. Then slowly turn to my other beds. I have a new strawberry bed I need to cage up, as well as a sunflower, flower bed and herb beds that needs caged.

I have about 3/4 of my hoop house covered but it’s slow going. I just take a long time to heal, and my recovery from general anesthetic along with my work obligations have been a lot.

*I am wrapping 1/2″ hardware cloth over the entire thing. I am using bricks to weigh down the ends of it, so squirrels can’t get in. You can literally see the squirrel holes in this picture.*

My wife has been helping me because her 6’2″ height and long arms are very helpful compared to my 5’6″ stature. I am hoping this weekend to get more done. I am out of bricks so maybe I will pick some up on Wednesday afternoon.

I do like that in the picture you can see all the clover coming in. I’ve had a lot of it grow in from last year. I’ve been mowing it just like grass. I love it. I am going to seed the bald spots again and see if that helps. Clover is so nice! I don’t know why folks do grass yards.

We also had our HVAC system changed out a few months back to a heat pump. This is the single best adult purchase in my entire life. Our house is from 1935 and has thin exterior walls, so being able to control the heat and cold in the house to be comfy is a god send.

We spent $26,000 to do have the work done, and some of it was electrical to prep for this. We will see about getting some of that back at tax time, but honestly? I’d rather pay the small low interest home loan we got for it, and be comfortable.

It’s been a few months and we’ve had a few hot days, and it’s amazing. This, combined with the roof vents, and crawl space insulation means that no matter what, our home is the perfect temperature. This is the first time in a year and a half that it’s not over hot or over cold.

I decided I didn’t want to mow around the heat pump unit, so I dug up the grass around it, and laid down landscaping cloth, and put some gravel over that.

*This is so tiny, but literally took me two hours, and I was physically wrecked for days!*

I wanted to make sure the mowers or weed eaters didn’t come in contact with the important bits below:

*Ignore the landscaping cloth peeking through, I am getting another bag of gravel this weekend to cover it.*

Now we don’t have to worry about accidentally breaking anything. Honestly, I’d do the whole side of the house that way, because I hate grass lawns.

The other project I have been doing, a window or two at the time, is reflective UV film. I have been putting it on all the windows. it’s just like a giant vinyl sticker you install on the inside of your windows, that keeps out the heat, and is reflective enough you can’t see in.

*You can hardly see in at all, and it sure does keep the heat of the sun out.*

We have some very busy neighbors and my wife and I didn’t want to have folks being able to see us in our home. We found a product on Amazon, and used the silver version. No affiliate link, this is just what I used.

I was just impressed with how much heat this window film keeps out. It is also damn near impossible to see. In the picture above you can kind of see the back window, but that’s at 2 feet from the window. On the street, you see literally nothing. It’s 10/10 on blocking heat, and 10/10 on blocking folks from seeing in.

I am just trying to get all this infrastructure projects done. I don’t feel it’s the fun projects, but the basic ones to make everything livable. I am more into the decorating and planting, not the insulating and making the house livable.

I think next spring I will have all the garden beds protected with cages. I will have all the big livable projects done, and can start planting and maybe doing cool artsy decorating projects. I look forward to that.

Mostly, I am trying to give myself the grace that I would extend to anyone else. I am partially disabled. I can’t lift, or move the way healthy young folks can, so I am doing a lot. It’s just on my terms. I like to remind myself of that when I feel I am missing my own self imposed deadlines.

It is amazing though, that I have a house, and I can work on projects at my own pace because I will live here next year, and next year and so on. I sometimes forget I get to live here forever because I am so used to renting.