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Reality Daydream

The Dream is Free, The Hustle Sold Separately

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Tips and Tricks on Staining a Pergola!

September 7, 2016 by Bethany Sy

*This post was sponsored by Wagner. Thank you for supporting the partners that make Reality Daydream possible! This post contains affiliate links*

When we bought our house 7 years ago, there wasn’t much in the way of landscaping… let alone a deck or patio area. It took us a few years to make it a priority, but we finally built our rounded pergola and installed the patio.

Enjoy this short progression of photos that represents dozens of hours of hard labor, sweaty breakdowns, and actual gnashing of teeth.

Progression of building a pergola and adding a patio

We spend SO MUCH TIME out on this patio, and we didn’t even notice how much the unfinished wood of the pergola had gotten so worn and dull over the last couple years.

How to stain and seal a pergola... the easy way!

But the idea of staining a pergola (let alone SEALING) was daunting.

SO. many. boards.

I was picturing myself brushing it on, one stoke at a time… resulting in me laying in the middle of the patio in a pool of defeated tears and wood stain. But after doing some researching, we realized that we could SPRAY the product on with a paint gun type thing. I was still hesitant and DREADING it. But our friends at Wagner sent us one of their spray guns to use (the Flexio 590) for this project, and that thing works like a dream.

Using a sprayer makes staining the pergola a breeze!

Of course it doesn’t hurt that the hubs is 6’8” tall either. LOLOL! He did the first coat, and I did the second… and my coat took twice as long because I had to get down and move the ladder every 30 seconds. But it went on so smooth, I wasn’t complaining! This paint gun is so easy to operate… AND easy to clean! And we loved that we didn’t need to drag our giant air compressor out onto the patio for staining a pergola.

Progress is being made on staining the pergola.

We used Thompson’s Water Seal stain/sealer in ‘Woodland Cedar’, and we love the rich cedar color. It makes the wood seem so much more vibrant and alive! And much less like it’s going to crumble.

The absolute WORST part of this project was taping/papering off the house to protect it from overspray. Isn’t the taping and prep work always the worst?

Preparing your pergola or deck for stain and sealant!

However, it was easier than we thought it would be, because Nick discovered this brilliant little tool that actually dispenses the painters tape and paper together. Basically a life-changing product for all DIYers.

After applying both coats of stain, and removing the paper, we stood back to appreciate the full effect of our newly refinished pergola!

Tips and tricks for staining and sealing your pergola or deck!

Our backyard looks wonderful after staining the pergola!

I mean, check out the difference in this convenient before/after collage I made.

Staining and sealing your pergola makes SUCH a big difference! And it's not as much work as you might think.

Yeah yeah, I know that wasn’t a fair before and after pic because one was on a cloudy day, and one was on a sunny day. But you get the point right? Plus, I can’t control the weather sooo….

Our curb appeal just went from zero to sixty in no time! And it makes for MUCH better pictures when I’m photographing our little fam enjoying a fall day.

Staining a pergola can make a gigantic difference in the look of your yard!

On a totally different topic, I’d like to show you what our girls spent our 3-day weekend doing.

Sy girls

Wait for it…

Sidewalk hearts

SO MANY HEARTS.

Sidewalk Chalk Hearts on the Patio

I have a feeling when it rains, we’re going to have lots of tears in this house. I’ve been dropping hints about it in hopes of preparing them for the trauma in advance.

UPDATE… exactly 5 minutes after I typed that, it started raining. The girls looked out the window and said, ‘It’s raining! I guess we’ll have to draw all our hearts again later. Do you think it’s raining in Mexico?’ LOLOL …I can’t make this stuff up.

What did YOU do this past Labor Day weekend? Do you get out and go boating? (we got a little canoeing in!) Or did you do some house or yard projects?

~Bethany

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About Bethany Sy

Nick and Bethany Sy are the creative free-spirits behind DIY/Lifestyle blog, Reality Daydream. They recently purchased a historic mansion and have been documenting the ups and downs of renovation and making this home their own... all while sharing tips and tutorials along the way! When they found themselves in the trenches of infertility, they started a journey that would prove to be their most important DIY project ever, and have 3 beautiful girls to show for it. <3

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Comments

  1. 5

    Nick says

    August 20, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    Did you back brush after you sprayed?

    Reply
    • 6

      Bethany Sy says

      August 25, 2020 at 4:19 pm

      Nope!

      Reply
  2. 7

    Mike says

    November 17, 2019 at 3:33 am

    I am LITERALLY looking to do this EXACT thing to our pergola and patio. I did all of the patio and about half of the pergola by brush. UGH! Naturally, I quit as the summer go to hot and my desire waned. So I’m looking forward to getting that sprayer. Would you say the stain was absorbed well by the wood? Supposedly brushes make for better absorption by the wood…

    Reply
    • 8

      Bethany Sy says

      November 20, 2019 at 7:20 pm

      The stain looked great for about 2 years, but then it started looking pretty blotchy. Might try another product next time.

      Reply
  3. 9

    Lisa Render says

    June 24, 2017 at 5:14 pm

    We have a pergola almost exactly like yours and we need to do something soon before it turns grey. Ours isn’t against our house so that might be a little less prep work. But I’m wondering if you had to powerwash or do any prep work to the wood before staining? Your project looks great! Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply
  4. 10

    dana dashoop says

    September 14, 2016 at 6:36 pm

    I can’t believe the transformation for what the sun does to the boards- & how easy Nick made it look… wowza! loving the new stain color!!! oooooo concrete stain to match? 😉

    Reply

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We are Nick and Bethany! Welcome to our blog, Reality Daydream where we share our DIY adventures!

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