Easy Deck Makeover & Privacy Wall Part 2

In the first part of my deck makeover I demoed the railings, the lattice, and the staircase, then refinished the deck boards and built an enclosure for the bottom of the deck. Once all of that was done it was time to really turn this deck into the backyard oasis I had alwasy dreamed of. In this half of the project I’ll be adding a privacy wall and building a railing to match the modern look of the bottom of the deck. We’ll finish it off by adding furniture and styling the space for entertaining.

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Want to see this build in action? You can watch my build video here (+ make sure to subscribe to my channel)!

Tools + Materials

Furniture

Materials

Tools

How it Started

A quick reminder of what my deck looked like before I started this project. And if you haven’t seen the demo portion of this build then make sure to check out this blog post, and this youtube video to see what I did!

1. Stain The Deck & Railings

I decided to spray the stain onto the boards that I used to enclose the deck and the staircase. So I put down some plastic on the grass and paper over the deck boards to protect them from overspray.

Then I grabbed my sprayer and got to work.

I had originally planned to pre-stain all of the boards for the railings but the weather had a different plan. I was able to pre-stain a few and the rest had to be stained after the railing was built. Not ideal, but we did what we had to do to get it done, I wasn’t about to let the weather slow me down.

2. Install the Deck Railings

My dad came to help me install the railings. I have to be honest, it was really helpful to have an extra set of hands for this. I went with the Hoft System which is essentially metal posts that have grooves in the sides so you can slide boards in between them, they have spacers to evenly space out the boards. It made for a really neat look.

First we bolted in the metal posts. You max out at 6 feet in between posts in order to keep the stability of the boards and avoid warping, so we had to keep that in mind as we spaced the posts out on the perimeter of the deck.

After bolting down the posts we cut down the boards and slid them into place. This system isn’t the cheapest option for a privacy fence but it still cost less than rebuilding my entire deck and it was great to not need any other fasteners or equipment to install the boards.

These shims slide down in the groove of the post to evenly space the boards half an inch apart. Super easy to keep everything even and level.

As I cut the boards down to size on the miter saw my dad was in charge of sliding them into place. Doing this as a team really made it a seamless process.

You can see that the top boards go above the posts so I did have to rip those down so that the end caps fit. I really wish I could have pre-stained the boards before installing but the metal posts came wrapped in plastic so at least I didn’t have to cover those before staining.

We repeated the process on the other side of the deck. It took a few more days than I had anticipated but we got it done.

3. Sand & Stain the Railings

All of the boards got sanded and then sprayed with stain.

The most satisfying part of this project was peeling the plastic off of the metal posts once the stain was dry.

4. Finish the Top of the Deck

Typically I finish the small details at the end of a project but my furniture had already been delivered and it was going to be way easier to get it onto the deck before the railing went up. So I started by adding a step up into the house and staining it to match the deck boards.

I added trim along the house with my brad nailer.

I also swapped out the light fixtures. I really wanted to keep the existing fixtures but they were rusted out and leaking so we had to replace them.

I made sure to put silicone around them to prevent water from getting in. I also siliconed around the windows and doors to help waterproof those as well.

And I finally painted the cedar siding around the kitchen window.

5. Staircase Railing

I attached the bottom posts directly into the concrete. I did this by marking where my holes needed to be, drilling into the concrete with a masonry bit and then using concrete specific fasteners to secure it tightly.

6. Fix Warped Board

There was one board that was bowed out and it was driving me crazy. So I pulled that board and the 3 boards above it out, dropped the 3 back down and put a new straight board on top. I love that with this system I can just replace boards as needed since they’re not fastened into the posts.

5. (Again) Back to the Railing

In order to find the angle for the railing, I took the boards to the stairs, held them up and marked the angle with a pencil. Then I took them to my miter saw to cut them to size.

Ok so, because the boards for the railing are cut on an angle, it makes it look like those boards are bigger than the rest of the boards on the deck. This wasn’t going to work for me.

I took the railing boards to the table saw and trimmed them to the width that matched the rest of the boards.

I was able to pre-stain these boards before installing them, remember this had been my plan all along. So all I had to do once they were dry was slide them into place and use the spacers so they matched the rest of the deck.

And then the deck build was complete! All that was left to do was decorating and enjoying.

7. Decorating the Deck

I wanted to divide the deck into a lounge area and a dining area. For the lounge area I chose this awesome couch and a handwoven rug which made it so cozy.

I also got a dining table with two benches which is perfect for seating a lot of people. I absolutely love this table.

The Reveal

What do you think? I am absolutely in love with this makeover and our deck is now the outdoor oasis we’ve always wanted. I completed the deck 3 years ago now, and it’s still the best place to spend time outside. Shortly after finishing the deck we actually got married on it and had the backyard wedding of our dreams. Now we get to continue to enjoy this space over and over. I hope now that Spring is finally here this project might inspire you to tackle something in your own outdoor space that you can continue to love for years to come. There are some fun projects coming up very soon so make sure to stay tuned, but until then, happy DIYing friends!