Our Deck Remodel Revisited – New Wood Lattice Finish

Last year I finished remodeling our deck using Trex and cable wiring, but one detail was missing, adding wood lattice around the bottom frame. While not required, adding lattice to your deck frame can help keep out animals and add storage space for gardening tools and supplies.

Your Lattice Options:

Lattice is available in multiple materials, including pressure treated wood lattice (in two overlapping layers) and vinyl lattice (single layer), the latter of which has transitional and end cap connectors, for a more streamlined installation. The pressure treated wood lattice requires painting or staining, while the latter comes in multiple colors.

We bought the wood lattice at Lowe’s at the same time we bought the Trex and cabling materials, to save on delivery costs, and planned to complete the installation once it was warm enough to work outdoors again. We didn’t know what color stain we were going to use on the deck at the time and later learned the lattice materials available at one store weren’t available at another, so we didn’t know what all our options were. In hindsight, we should have waited until the deck remodel was complete as we could have gone with the Redwood Vinyl option.

Cutting The Lattice:

As is evident in our deck remodel photos, our deck is built on a hillside with uneven slopes, a very challenging environment to work with. Ordinarily you should start this kind of project by building out the framing first. However, I didn’t have the framing materials yet, and the lattice was already in our garage, so I started out by measuring the lengths for each lattice cut. Once the I had my measurements, I transferred them to the lattice sheets and tried using 3 different types of saws to cut the lattice. The reciprocating saw caused too much kick-back and the circular saw, used in a forward direction, had the same issue. I settled on the oscillating multi-tool, which did the job, but I later learned the circular saw was also a good option if you flip the blade around.

With the lattice cut, I double checked to be sure each piece would cover the deck frame sufficiently, which they did.

Staining the Lattice:

Then I worked on staining the lattice. I only had half a gallon of the Dark Oak stain left from the deck frame and posts. Assuming there would be too much wasted stain using a spray gun, I opted to use a 3” roller on a paint stick. 10 hours later (over multiple days), and another gallon in, I only had one side of each lattice stained and it clearly needed another coat. This approach wasn’t going to work.

I pulled out the Wagner paint gun, put on full body covering, goggles and face mask (all at Joanna’s request) and tested things out. Only 3 hours later, I had the other side of the lattice stained and things looked much more fully and evenly coated. While the clean up using a spray gun takes several minutes, the amount of time I saved using it made it well worth it.

Staining And Building The Frame:

Next up was staining and building the frame for the lattice, which I made using 2×4’s. I also needed to sand and stain the base of the deck itself so that everything would match.

Building the frame proved especially challenging due to the uneven sloping underneath the deck. Plus, I couldn’t use a ladder anywhere. I made sure each corner lined up properly before securing everything together and had to re-cut some of the vertical posts because the base pieces would sink into the ground as I added nails.

Installing The Lattice:

With the framing done, I laid out each piece of lattice again to be sure they fit properly. Then I made final cuts to get everything to fit snugly, trimming down overlapping sections at the corners. I used ¾” Bostitch staples to secure each lattice in place. The staples worked well and could easily be removed with a screwdriver and pliers if there were any issues. That was key when I was determining where each vertical post needed to be installed during framing. Using brad nails would have proved more difficult.

Adding A Door:

The last detail was adding a door so we could retain access underneath the deck. I initially cut two 2×4’s lengthwise to build out the frame, then determined where the hinges and bolt would go, cutting the lattice accordingly. However, I quickly discovered that the thinner cuts made the door frame too flexible, so I reverted to uncut 2×4’s for the top and bottom, which proved much sturdier.

We wanted the lattice to look consistent around the deck, and for the door to blend in more, so, I secured the lattice to the deck frame, cut the lattice around the door frame, trimming a little extra on the hinge side. It worked out perfectly.

Interestingly, while I was staining the deck support posts, I noticed an army of termites underneath the deck on an exploratory mission to establish a new colony. One day they were there by the hundreds, the next day they were gone. So, I knew we need to retain access underneath so we could monitor further activity let alone store anything. We’re planning to add termite bait stations as a precaution.

The Finishing Touches:

The deck now looks complete and uniform from the top down. It’s now too cold out (< 50* fahrenheit) for the stain to dry properly, so next Spring I will go around with the paint brush for final touch ups.

While using Redwood vinyl lattice would have saved both time and money, using the pressure treated lattice was more consistent with the rest of the deck frame and railing, so we’re ultimately happy with how things turned out. Using the Wagner spray gun was definitely the better tool for the staining the lattice vs. using a roller.

If you liked this story, you can reading about our deck remodel or about our bathroom and kitchen remodels.