Toronto Renovation Stories & Expert Advice

Staining your deck on the long weekend?

The long weekend is the usual "open the garden for summer" weekend. We like to think we're going to relax but let's face it, whether you're opening the cottage or staying home and using the backyard, it is, more often than not, a work weekend. We clean barbeques, windows, lawn furniture, garden beds, etc.. And some of the more industrious of us will even take on restaining the deck.


Last week I received a press release from the people over at Sico paints announcing a new product launch. This is a new wood stain that makes your outdoor wood look as clean and shiny as your indoor wood. Called Transluscent Exterior Finish, it is a high performance stain that gives the finished product a shiny look as if it's been varnished. The finish lasts longer than a regular outdoor stain and can be used on any outdoor wood piece from fences and decks to furniture.

Sico also sent a list of tips if you're planning on spending your holiday long weekend giving that deck new life:

Sico's Wood Staining Tips:



Cleaning comes first: Wood tends to turn gray with age. Use a good quality wood cleaner to remove loose gray fibres, brighten weathered surfaces and restore the wood to its original colour. Strip wood when needed: If your wood has been previously stained, painted or varnished, strip the surface with an exterior stain remover that’s specially formulated for exterior wood surfaces that are deteriorating and peeling. Rinse well and let the surface dry for a couple of days.



Sand both new and aged wood: To remove imperfections and residue, and open the pores of the wood for a better staining job, sand the surface using 80-grit sandpaper or use 120-grit sandpaper for vertical surfaces. When you’re done, sprinkle a few drops of water on the surface. If the water beads, you need to keep sanding. If it penetrates into the wood, your job is complete.



Conditioner is key: To improve penetration of the surface and ensure better adhesion of the stain, use a conditioner before staining, even if the wood is new. Consider environmentally-friendly conditioners like Sico’s biodegradable cleaner, brightener and conditioner, which contains no bleach, phosphate or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It cleans and conditions in one single step.



Weather, tools matter: Wood planks become warped with time, so a paint brush – not a roller – is the best tool to apply a stain. Use brushes that are specifically designed for wood staining. Before you begin your project, ensure the weather has been dry for two to three days and the temperature is between 15º C and 25º C.

Labels: outdoors, painting

Posted by Cathy
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Paint websites

When my husband and I bought our first condo, I painted our diningroom what I thought was a nice deep burgundy. At least that's the way it looked under the fluorescent light at the paint store. When we put it on the walls it turned out to be raspberry. It looked great at night when we could light candles and use the chandalier's dimmer switch, but woah! in daylight the room was aglow in neon pink.

What that mistake taught me however, was how to be prudent when choosing colours. For one thing, now I'll paint an old piece of cardboard with a tester first before slapping it up on the wall. I also live by the decorator addage of choosing a colour two shades lighter than I want and if I feel it's not coming out too light, then I'll put on a second coat in a darker colour. Finally, I rely a lot on the advice of the paint experts at local paint stores. I'll take a fabric sample into a store and tell them what I want. The sales people, particularly at smaller specialty shops, really know their stuff and the colours they recommend have been exactly what I'd imagined.

If you're thinking of painting your rooms, the latest tools to help you with colour are provided by paint manufacturers' websites. On many of the websites, not only can you see what a colour looks like in a room's setting, they'll usually pair it with one or two complementary colours to help you pull a colour scheme together. Try out a few of the websites first, then consult the HomeStars directory for reviews of paint stores near you.

Useful paint links:

Benjamin Moore: This site offers you the ability to colour your own walls by inputting your rooms via digital photography. If you don't have a digital camera, they also have their own room selections too.

Para Paints: Para has a "Trend 2008" section as well as a section which will help you put three colours together. Best of all it's fast and easy to use.

Sico: Sico offers an "interactive" method of giving you colour advice. Your mission is to help Maude and Sarah, otherwise known as the "Colour Squad," choose colours for a friend's colourless home while the friend is out. When you make certain style decisions, it is recorded and at the end of the video you go to the virtual decorator to see what you've chosen -- or you can skip the whole process and just go the the virtual decorator.

Farrow and Ball: Like the Para site, Farrow and Ball has a selection of complementary colours to go with the primary colour you've chosen. However, I find the site more difficult to use as it's necessary to go three screens deep (or click three times) to get the result. I'm not sure the effort is always worth the trouble, but if you're a big fan of F&B's colour lines it might be. I do like their wallpaper selection though.

Labels: painting, Useful links

Posted by Cathy
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DIY Gone Wrong

I am a lover of Do It Yourself projects. Anything that will save me a few extra dollars has my attention. The only thing is, I keep forgetting that those people on TV have years of training under their belt and that's why they make whatever they're doing look so easy. Take home improvement for example; last year we had our bathroom painted. Now, I know what you're thinking: you're thinking that if I'm such a fan of saving a few dollars why didn't I just paint the bathroom myself? The answer is because it was the ugly old gray ceramic tile (rusted and stained in places) and I knew at least that that was one job I couldn't handle. Anyway, in order to save myself an hour on the painter's clock I removed the pedestal sink and toilet tank myself. Ha! That wasn't so hard, I thought. Bob Vila, eat your heart out!

Putting the sink and toilet back, however, was another story. When I was reattaching the water pipes to the toilet tank, I had a little trouble with the 50 year old tap that fed into the toilet. It wouldn't budge without a monkey wrench. So I used one and it moved, really, really easily, until, poof! It broke off. So I stood there with a monkey wrench clamping a tap realizing with that sinking feeling I couldn't turn the main water supply on until it was fixed. Do you think I learned? Of course not. I actually attempted to fix it myself with the sage counsel of our local hardware salesman. I won't go into the details, except to say that eventually some welding was required and I didn't think my creme brule torch would do the trick.

DIY is great, until you realize you that there's a reason for those licensed contractors. I needed a plumber - and fast! I found one on HomeStars (naturally) who was able to come that day. Needless to say, he knew what he was doing and the water was back on three hours later. Whew!

What's your "DIY Gone Wrong" story? How far did you let things get before throwing in the towel and calling a professional? We all have these stories. Write a review and title it "DIY Gone Wrong." The top 3 stories will be published in next month's newsletter, and the top 10 stories published on the Toronto and Boston Blogs. From comic to tragic, we all have our DIY Gone Wrong stories, so share yours now!

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Labels: DIY gone wrong, painting, plumbers

Posted by Cathy
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