The fire pit that almost wasn't because Mr. Wonderful was not keen on the idea originally but finally gave in and built this beautiful area to gather and enjoy a fire. He will be the first to admit how much he enjoys sitting out there and that it was not such a bad idea after all. However, little did we know that the benches he built would not hold up in the elements and have to be completely refinished less than two years after he built them.
Apparently the waterproof varnish he used was not so waterproof after all and began to flake and peel off which resulted in water saturated wood. The weather had taken its toll and the boards would not last if something was not done soon. So began the removal of all the boards and there are a lot of them. Once removed they were all laid out to dry for several weeks.
As soon as he was sure they were completely dry he sanded them down to the raw wood.
He used a new brand of stain and also a new sealer/varnish.
This time it was not only waterproof but a heavy duty Marine Varnish. If it is good enough for boats then it must be just what we need for the backyard benches.
He applied multiple coats to be sure it covered well.
It was a slow process since it took hours to dry between layers and there are so many boards it was tricky to find enough space to lay them out.
Once they were nice and dry it was time to reassembled the benches and since he thought ahead and had marked them all it made it fairly easy to put back together.
While he was at it he touched up the fit pit too with a coat of some appropriate paint.
Once the benches were back we of course had to have a fire pit that same night even though it was a bit cold and raining just a little. A good test for the Marine Varnish and I must say it appeared to be working as expected.
Before it got dark we had a beautiful rainbow overhead!
A great night to be out enjoying the fire pit, however, there is more to share about our fire pit. In fact, it is something new which I have been wanting from the beginning and finally convinced Mr. Wonderful that it was a good idea however, as usual, he took it to a new level. So come back for Fire Pit upgrades ~Part 2 and find out what he made for me and the bonus project!
For more about our DIY fire pit: go here
Happy Friday!
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