A Front Porch Refresh

Before we hosted the baby shower nearly two weeks ago, I did a little maintenance on the Street Side Front Porch. Currently, the big door, on the grand entrance side of BHH is off-limits, and I wanted all of our guests to use this small porch instead. For day-to-day, our family uses both entrances almost equally.

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Although we just finished the Street Side Front Porch last summer, a full winter of snow and road salt wreaked havoc on it. I did not want our guests to enter into this mess. Yikes!

This longer post about why we chose Cumaru wood for the porch is a useful read, but the short of it is maintenance. There are only two easy steps each year.

Step 1: Clean

First, I gave the area a thorough sweeping to remove the leaves and debris. For good measure, I also wiped the cobwebs out of the boot cubby and washed all of the windows.

Unfortunately, there was a clear outline of our doormat. Short of sanding the whole surface, there was no way to get rid of it. Our summer mat is larger, and the outline does not show.

Next, I mopped the entire porch with plain warm water and clean rags. Then, I let everything dry thoroughly.

Step 2: Apply Ipe Oil

The oil for Cumaru is actually Ipe Oil. Ipe and Cumaru are two different products, but you can use the same oil for a yearly refresh. For some reason, this oil is only available in a gallon size. Since I use about 1/6 of a gallon each year, my friend Dale has been sharing his container with me. Cheers to good friends!

Ipe oil can be applied with a roller or a bristle or foam brush. For this small area, I used a cheapie 4″ foam brush. For a large deck, a roller would work best.

I spread the oil evenly across the boards and let it soak in for about 15 minutes.

Finally, I wiped off the excess, and the floor looked almost new again. It was shocking how much better the Cumaru looked after these two easy steps. Clean. Oil. That’s it.

The outline of the mat is still there, but overall, oiling the Cumaru made a marked difference. Since our days are still cool and damp, I kept foot traffic off the porch for a full 24 hours to make sure the oil dried thoroughly.

For the rest of the summer, I will simply sweep or damp-mop the floor if it gets dirty, and that should be enough to bring back the rich red color of the Cumaru.

Special Notes:

• Ipe oil is combustible. Be sure to dispose of your brush and rags properly to avoid a fire. Deckwise, the maker of IPE oil, suggests submerging everything in a metal container filled with water. I typically just spread the oily rags flat in the grass, away from the house until they are thoroughly dry–a day or two. Then, I toss them out on trash day.
• If you live in an arid climate, you may need to oil exotic hardwoods more than once per year.

On an unrelated note, I think this is the last year for the stairs on this side of the house. Next year, I plan to replace the old and cracked pressure-treated boards with Cumaru to match the porch.

Is deck or porch maintenance on your yearly summer to-do list? What do you do to keep your porch looking its best? With both sides of the house, we are still in the fixing it stage, and maybe we will get fancy next summer with some planters and outdoor furniture. Then again, both have been on my list for four years, and they get knocked off every year. Here’s hoping 2020 is the year.

-Stacy