Hi WB, If you've had dry weather, 3 or 4 days is OK, then use the sander. * You want all wood fibers to "shear off" nicely. If they're still damp, they may "tear" more...compared to a cleaner cut. * Important point: Get all the dust you can from where you sanded!! Sweeping/Shop-vac/light wipe with paint thinner. * Then, stain away! Deck Stains...hmmm...now THERE'S a "hot topic" here! * I can only speak of what we have good experience with at our store here in Fargo, ND... * Our climate here can range from -30 to 100+, with ALL kinds of humidity. It's a wonder anything holds on a deck! (our rough streets take a beating too!) ....That said.... * The "clear", "natural" colors from Penofin & Sikkens are our best sellers. * PENOFIN: Cedar, Western Red Cedar, & Transparent Redwood are by far the 3 top colors here. TWO-COAT process normally on untreated wood. 2nd coat goes pretty quickly. * SIKKENS: JEEZ we go through a lot of this stuff! SRD is appropriate for 95% of decks. ONE COAT on untreated wood. >>>> Most popular SRD colors... 077 Cedar, 078 Natural, 005 Natural Light, Mahogany, & 089 Redwood. * I've got an 11 yr.-old Redwood deck. I'm real happy with the SRD 089 Redwood I've got on it. I've had 2 yrs. off, but have to do it again this fall. * We don't get any shade on ours; but, up here, that's about all we can realistically expect. Let us know how it goes for ya! Faron

I like the existing color of your home and the warm trim around the window which should be around the front door also. I would select a dark charcoal gray for the roof fascia board and use the same color on the front door. and on the brick around the base of the house. You require some type os screening around the base of the porch. Please don't buy lattice. It should also be painted out the the same charcoal gray. I would leave the railings and porch deck. If you 'paint' them white they will stick out like a sore thumb.

We use Diamond Vogel opaque deck stains with good results. Needs to be renewed about every4-5 years. As bad as that wood is, however, I would not expect too much. Were it my deck I would set all the nails, rent a floor sander and try to get down to good wood before staining. To answer your questions: 1. Can anyone tell what type of wood my decking is made of? Treated pine 3. Can I wood-fill smaller cracks and splits instead of replacing? No. Wood filler is not for unstable environments like a wood deck. 4. Do I need to prep my railing differently than other surfaces? Only the top of the rail should be weather-worn. Sand it down before staining. 5. If I replace some boards, any tips for trying to blend the old and new boards? Blending is not really possible. The new wood is full of treatment solution and will take stain differently than old wood. The usual recommendation is to let new wood sit for a minimum of six weeks before staining.

so it's actually more orange, you'd say, then pink? I liked the pink tones! and yes, I hate the brown tones. totally here ya on that one. Such a cool looking house. I suppose doing a lime wash on the brick is a no? I mean, I think you could really brighten her up if you went that route. Look at Romabio and their before and afters. just spend a little time online looking at the transformations. It's not a regular paint either, so it's very very low maintenance. try these. instead of doing tans/greens/sage, try moving over into the blue/green and blue grays, along w/some white and tans. These blues, along w/the orange brick, are natural compliments. I love these two blues w/the white. you have the porch and railing that could use the diff blue tones. don't forget the porch ceiling in the pale blue.