Outdoor Projects
The New England weather really takes a toll on wood, and carpenter ants don’t help. For this porch, I replaced the decking and the posts on the railing . A few of the beams underneath had been chewed on by carpenter ants, so I removed the damaged wood and reinforced the rest. The risers had been scratched open by a skunk! I found the burrow under the stone step and work paused while the critter was evicted.
A stitch in time saves nine, which is what this shed needed but didn’t get. The roof started to sag as the walls twisted out of square. I added a ridge beam, shored up the walls, added concrete to the foundation, added a loft, and replaced the old windows with salvaged ones. This was a big project, but it’s solid enough now that it could serve as a tiny house.
I often use stain to match weathered wood, helping lower the visibility of repairs. The color doesn’t need to be a precise match, just close enough that it doesn’t scream for attention. Here you can see where I stained a new step when replacing the top two, and how I stained rail caps for an existing fence. I sometimes use a lighter stain so that it matches better and better as it weathers.
