9/2/2014 Finally an outdoor completion

Weather delay after weather delay, but we've finally completed one  outdoor task that we've been attempting for weeks.  We've had a very rainy summer this year, and we needed at least a small window of dry and not very windy weather to complete our deck staining.  Well, one out of two is the best we could do.  It was a very windy day, and we almost didn't make it because of rain.  The weather changed and the rain arrived hours before it was forecast to.  Luckily the thunderstorms formed on both sides of us and rolled north without leaving a drop behind until much later that night.  By then the stain was sufficiently dry to stand up to the moisture.  It took more prep time than we had to spare too because of the wind, but necessarily had to be done.  Debra and her grandson did most of the paper and tape to protect the siding and our lower patio from over spray and drips, while I set up the spray equipment and cleared the deck of all furniture.

The disappointing news is, our local landscaper (who has also been negatively affected by all the rain) has been pushed so far back, that we most likely will not get our ground work done before next spring.  It looks like one more Winter of weeds and mud around the house.  He did promise to come back and complete the two retaining walls we need by our lower patio before Fall.  At least we'll be able to stop the erosion and mini mud slides we've been experiencing down on the lower level.

The equipment that saved us days of brush and roller work.  This is the same spray equipment we used to paint the whole interior of this house, and the exterior of a little bungalow we refurbished several years ago.  Good equipment is worth the expenditure when you really need it.

You can see the paper and tape we used to mask the house.  The chimney is still Tyvek, so we didn't care if it got stain on it.  We're covering that with faux rock anyway.  Including the deck on the back of the house, we did around 800 square feet of deck and railing stain in a little more than a day.

Or view to the southwest now that we have cleared the necessary trees and brush.  We LOVE our little piece of paradise!