When you think of a home, many people think about the inside, but the outside is just as important as the inside. The value of a home includes both views of the home, inside and outside. You may have a deck that looks ancient because it is weathered and because you haven’t given it much attention. A simple do it yourself home improvement might be, to spruce up your deck. Have you heard the joke about whether a woman should wear make up or not. Well, even an old barn needs a coat of paint once in awhile. The same thing applies to your deck. Any kind of change will enhance a new look on your deck, but it may be a simple do it yourself home improvement such as painting it, that could make a world of difference.
You may need to do some repairs on the boards of the decking before painting. There may be some gouges that need filled in first. A simple do it yourself home improvement step would be to get some wood putty to fill in these scrapes. You may then need to do some sanding if the boards are pretty rough and especially if there is old paint that is coming up. This may take a little time to do, but the results will be worth the effort. There are many choices of paint to choose from for a simple do it yourself home improvement project. You can get oil based paints or water based paints, from a flat to glossy finish. A semi gloss might be a good choice for a simple do it yourself home improvement job because you can wipe it off or hose it down to clean it.
Another simple do it yourself home improvement choice for covering your deck floor might be to stain it. You would need to follow the steps above for covering up bad spots, but then you could use a stain instead of paint. You will be surprised at the amount of choices available today in the stain department. Once you have chosen the color of stain and applied it to the deck, you will want to preserve it by using a top coat. A simple do it yourself home improvement stain project isn’t really much different than if you were using paint, but you will need to put a coating on top of it to protect it from the weather and make it last longer.
No matter which simple do it yourself home improvement you choose, you will need to put two coats of either paint or stain on it, because the first coat will probably soak into the wood. The second coating will make it last longer and if you are going to all the trouble in the first place, you might as well do it right. A simple do it yourself home improvement will leave you feeling proud that you did it yourself, and also add value to your home.