CASE STUDY · LANCASTER, PA · 6 WORKING DAYS
One Week, One Porch: A Full Refinish in Lancaster
JOB CARD
The owners of this Lancaster home did not want a new porch. They wanted their porch, the one from the family photos, minus fifteen years of sun and snow. Every contractor before us had quoted a full rebuild. We quoted a week of honest labor instead.
What fifteen winters actually do
The steps were gray and fuzzy, the 15 lite door had faded to driftwood, and the shutters looked chalky. But the screwdriver test told the real story: solid wood almost everywhere. Pennsylvania weather kills finishes long before it kills lumber. That gap between how a porch looks and what it is structurally is where refinishing lives, and where homeowners overspend most often.
We replaced two treads that had genuinely rotted, sanded every horizontal surface to clean wood, and stained on the first dry 70 degree stretch of the spring. The door and shutters got stripped and refinished in a dark walnut that made the brick pop.
Advice we gave the owners
Use a penetrating stain, never a film forming one, on horizontal exterior wood. Film products look glossy for two seasons and then peel, and stripping them costs more than the original job. With penetrating stain, maintenance is a wash and a recoat every two to four years.
If your own porch looks like the before photos, run the screwdriver test on the ledger and stringers before believing any rebuild quote. Our full decision guide is in Refinish, Resurface or Rebuild, and the service details are on the porch refinishing page.
SHOT ON SITE BY OUR CREW. NO STOCK, NO STAGING.