This is gonna be a quickie post about how we tweaked the deck steps on our Rust-Oleum Makeover Deck to make them way better looking and sturdier too.
You can see the rest of the makeover by clicking here. The steps when we began looked a lot like an afterthought. It was messier than Lindsey Lohan at a college rush party. Kai! Alpha! Omega! Zeta! Kegger! Newt! Gingrich! Doesn’t it look like weirdly random?
These photos were taken after they were pressure washed so they looked worse than this before!
Jeremy and I had some scrap exterior lumber from our deck makeover so we were thankful that we had it already weathered (you should allow your lumber to weather for at least a month before applying a deck stain or paint or product). After we stared at this contraption for a while, we figured out that if we added a 4×4 post to the top end and we reworked the top rail as well recycling the diagonal supports, it would require very little time and only a few new pieces of wood.
Jeremy started with demo by knocking off that top rail. It broke so we definitely needed to replace that piece. I voted that we go with a 2×6 for a wider rail and it would then look nicer and more expensive.
Then he removed the diagonal supports….they were weird. Jeremy saved those just in case we needed them.
It’s always a good idea to save scrap lumber like this especially if it’s not dry rotted or cracked or warped. You can always find a way to use it later.
After we cut the 4×4 post to length, Jeremy fastened it to the deck joist and then also to the upright rail support next to it.
Upon closer inspection we saw that the end post needed replacing too…it was rotted around the base near the ground….so that original post was our template for a new 2×4.
I got my wish with a new top rail…it’s a 1×6 and I love that it ties in the new 4×4 post with the existing deck railing.
We probably could have stopped there (the point of this deck makeover wasn’t to replace all the boards but to show how worn and weathered boards could be made functional again with Rust-Oleum’s Restore Advanced 10x deck coating) but honestly I didn’t like the unfinished look. It needed more!
Two additional pieces of lumber attached on the same side (vs. one on each opposing side like before) finished it all off.
Doesn’t it look so much better?!
And it didn’t wobble at all….which is key for a railing.
When it came to do the painting…it looked OH so much better.
We went back and forth on the end cap piece on the post. It was a toss up between the solar lighted one that was black or the wooden one that we could paint to blend in with the deck. In the end, the wooden one won because we didn’t know if the solar version would look cheap or break or even shine at night. Anybody have experience with those bad boys? They look cool but I always take the doubters road on those and think it would be ugly in two seconds or require more work than their worth.
Either way, the stair railing looked so much better with a little planning and some simple additional pieces of wood! The lattice looks really good too….sets it all off, right?!
Now get outside and tweak those railings people! And make sure you send me before and after photos!
I’m off to put all those behind-the-scenes photos together for the post about the finished commercial! You are gonna just die when you see how great Jeremy did. He was so nervous and hates being the center of attention but he did really really well. Like you barely notice the booger on his face the entire time
But seriously…can’t wait for you to see it!
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