Sprucing Up a Storage Shed

With the weather so nice the other day, I decided to get some much needed home improvement work done.

I posted way back in June about how I planned to get several DIY projects completed, including staining a weathered wood ramp that leads to our outdoor storage shed. My husband and I had the ramp for the backyard shed installed more than a year ago, and unfortunately, we never got around to staining and weather protecting the wood.

This is what the ramp to my backyard storage shed looked like before I stained it.

So with the kids back in school, and the weather bright and sunny, I decided to tackle that project last week. I started out by purchasing a gallon of semi-transparent Behr deck, fence and siding wood stain (in chocolate). I opted for a dark color wood stain in hopes of covering the weathered-gray color of the shed ramp. Since the ramp is so small, I opted to purchase a cheap budget paint brush (instead of a roller) for the job.

I am happy to say that the job went quickly, and I was done staining the ramp by the time my kids came out for recess (at the schoolyard behind my home’s backyard) — so I was able to say a quick hello. Since I had so much wood stain left, I decided to stain the bare-wood foundation of the shed to match. That job was much more tiring, but I am glad I took the time to do it, since now the wood will be protected from the elements. I think the job came out pretty nice — I even added a little landscaping in front of the shed:

Our newly stained storage shed ramp

Looking good!

Happy with the results, I plan to use the rest of the stain (I have tons left) to stain the floor of the shed, so it will also be protected from wear and tear. I could have gotten started on the project this past weekend, but I have to confess that just staining the shed ramp and the wood foundation of the shed wiped me out! This is one mama who is out of shape!