DIY Life

Looking for deals on DIY-related gear?

If you're staying home this 4th of July weekend, it's a good time to work on the house and yard. Let's visit the big boys of home improvement supplies: check out July 4th deals from Lowe's here, and The Home Depot here. Neck-and-neck as always, both stores are offering 10% off major appliances ($397 and up) and deals on carpet installation.

Lowe's is offering gift cards in return for purchases, too, starting at a $10 card for purchases from $99 to $199 and going up to $100 cards for purchases of $600 or more. Nice to get something in return for all that spending, huh? Oh, and Lowe's is also offering 10% discounts this weekend for military personnel and their immediate families.

I rebuilt my back deck about three years ago, doubling it in size, pouring new footings, enlarging and reinforcing the support structure, adding a steel roof, and making provisions for a future screening job. At the conclusion of the work, I coated the wooden parts with what I thought was a high-quality finish in order to repel water and maintain the color.

Instead of lasting for the better part of the five year warranty, it made it about a year and, although it never evidenced failure by peeling, checking, or overt color loss, it just kind of went down hill. The consequence is that it's been sitting there for the past two years, baking in the north Georgia sun, while I was otherwise occupied.

Take a look at the gallery to see what I did to rehab the deck and, after the jump, press ahead for the details. Thanks to my DIY LIfe colleague, Kelly Smith, for other information on refinishing a deck.

A while back, in another feature on concrete, pavers, and stone, I touched on staining and sealing concrete. I recently had another great opportunity to stain and seal a 1300 square foot floor and, because of the advances in technology, it was a lot easier than last time. (If you need to repair the concrete first, take a look at Diane Rixon's great article here.)

Take a peek at the gallery; it will give you a sense of just how easy the process is, and we'll continue.