The front porch steps that I finished just in the nick of time before cold weather set in last year didn’t hold up as good as I was hoping. But I kind of knew it may have problems because the wood never totally dried out before I painted it. That’s OK. It did look nice during the winter when there wasn’t snow or ice on it. The salt probably had something to do with it, also.

But I do have a gripe. I don’t know why they sell all that pressure treat wood so wet. I did let it dry out some before I cut it. My perfect miters are no longer perfect. When I saw our deck the next summer after it was built I was amazed how the wood cracks and moves. The miters the contractors put in were also askew. And I know they were right on when they were nailed in place. I guess you need to plan these projects at least a year in advance and get the wood into a dry place for a year to let it do its thing.

So anyway, today was the perfect day to spend outside working. I sanded down all the loose areas and cleaned it up good with mineral spirits. It took a good part of the day but my steps are almost back to looking really good again. I took my nail gun and tightened up some molding that had come loose. I need to caulk and maybe touch up again in some areas after it has cured a bit. It felt really good to be doing projects outside again.