Painting the deck floor was super easy and the first coat went fast. Chris had to reinstall the railing before I could start the rails and the second coat. Due to schedules and such it took us a couple of weeks to get the railing back on. If we had all the money in the world we would of replaced the railing with something a bit more contemporary and perhaps metal. I decided to try and make the railing look a little different from the deck by painting it a slightly different shade. It looks nice but in certain light you can't even tell it's a different color. In hindsight not really worth the extra time and care. It took me a couple of weeks (one to two hours at a time) to finish up the railing.
Kid note: Nicholas helped "paint". My friend Paula had this great tip to give him a paint brush and a cup of water. He water painted ahead of me most days and enjoyed helping me.
I finished the second coat on the deck floor and the stairs over labor day. It turned out great and should last for a couple of years (longer hopefully).
Dog note: Lucy's claws are annoyingly long and mark up the floor a bit. I knew this would happen but it's still annoying. If you can't tell I am a bit dog frustrated lately - guess I'd better get her claws trimmed or learn how to do it. Good thing we love her.
Since we had to move all of the deck furniture in order to paint the deck I decided to sand and spray paint the furniture too. This was a quick and easy project that only took a couple of hours from start to finish. The grass worked great as a drop cloth. Steel wool and elbow grease removed all the rust and old paint. Three cans of Rustolem black paint and the furniture looks knew again. Love it.