Balcony Business

Finishing and checking a project off the to do list is always satisfying, especially when you’re a DIYer.  Even more so when it’s an outdoor task and winter is getting closer.  Our outdoor punch list is getting shorter and the house is looking better with each change.  Just three months ago, I shared progress on our rusted steel siding along with the beginnings of our private master suite balcony.

Rusted-Steel-Siding-on-Bathroom-Bump-Out

Compare that area to the siding install from last year and it’s already a significant improvement, what with the lack of death drop and all.

Standing-Seam-Steel-on-Front-of-House

Even still, the bright, unstained balcony wood attracted unnecessary attention.  Rather than being a detail, it screamed unfinished, until recently.  With a decent weather forecast, we had a chance to give it a coat of Canyon Brown stain by Olympic.

Stained-Balcony-Front

The underside still needs to get a coat because it’s visible from nearly every angle, it turned out exactly as we hoped.  Also of note, the steel has continued to rust and is darkening nicely.

Stained-Balcony-with-Bumpout

At three feet deep, the balcony is mostly a little retreat to enjoy a sunset and the best mountain view in the house.

Stained-Balcony-from-Side

With this area facing the road, we agreed on a railing of 6 inch boards with 1 1/2 inch spacing between for privacy without a completely solid rail.  For a really sleek, finished end, Ben mitered the corners to avoid leaving ends exposed.

Stained-Balcony-from-Walkway

Our big deck rebuilding project is almost finished, too, with a rail to match, once stained.

Stained-Balcony-from-Bocce-Court

The plan is to put a few bistro chairs, side table, and planters out here.

Stained-Balcony-Toward-End

The other side of the rail terminates into the bump out side.

Stained-Balcony-Toward-End-1

With two large decks, this little balcony doesn’t need to be huge to serve our needs; just a little private retreat to relax on.

Stained-Balcony-Deck-Boards

Now to find the right chair set.  I’d love a folding set, to easily store away when weather isn’t nice.

6 thoughts on “Balcony Business

  1. Oh my goodness! It just keeps looking better and better. I love the dark stained balcony/balcony-to-come. You’ve transformed what was a lackluster house into a gorgeous home with amazing views. I’m jealous! In Kansas, there simply are no views to speak of. I’d love to see a side-by-side of the house as it was on Day One and how it looks when the second front balcony is stained. And, I love the steel. It looks like a rustic timber lodge. Love it!

  2. Your house looks great. We have a very similar house, and railing. We don’t have your bump out in the front so the railing goes all the way across. We hope to bump out in the middle to increase the entry and fix some very awkward stairs inside. We are also considering Corten siding. I was wondering how the rusting process has been and if you have had any staining of nearby surfaces. We are a bit concerned about that so we would love to hear your experience on that.

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