Staining the Cabin

My son and I own a piece of property near Point Isabel Ohio. It consists of about 25 acres and contains a small pond, lots of woods and a wooden cabin. One of the first items on our to-do list when we purchased the property was to stain the cabin. We went to Home Depot and purchased five gallons of the stain, (we chose chocolate because our grand-daughter Kristin loves chocolate). Due to one thing after another, a year later we still did not have the cabin stained.

Finally last week we went to work. First we took the stain back to Home Depot and had them reshake it. We bought brushes, and buckets. I rounded up my ladders, a large tarp and wasp spray. We tried to get the airless sprayer to work, but it had been in storage so long that the internal parts were cracked. So we began, using 4 inch brushes.

I thought that painting the higher side first was a good idea but I found the water-thin stain dripping all over the ground, the plants, and myself. Holding the brush over my head was very difficult and several rest breaks were required. But even after resting I was not able to make much progress. My arms ached to the point that I couldn't hold up the brush. Finally I just began to work, with my wife, on the sections I could reach from the ground. What a whimp.

My son Tony was much more adept at staining. He not only completed the section I had left, but completed the most difficult sections, including the eaves. My daughter-in-law MaryBeth completed half of the back of the cabin by herself and then came around and helped my wife and I on the front. I felt as though I had not done my part. Not only that, but we needed to purchase three more gallons of stain and Tony and MaryBeth went back to the property two additional times and finished the job.

All in all, the cabin now looks great. What I had envisioned as a relatively simple job turned into an arduous task. Younger muscles saved the day