Lisa had not previously noticed this, but the first (nearest) board on the center step of the north porch stairs was flexing badly. The board above it in this view is also cracked, but it was not flexing under our weight, appeared to be being held in place much better than the first one, and also we only had one more length of pressure-treated lumber left.
Lisa cut the replacement board to size and screwed it into place. Like the south steps, these boards are supported by railroad ties under the porch.
The board Lisa replaced was so badly cracked that she was able to tear it into two pieces with her bare hands. Because there is so much paint on the bad boards, they can't be burned, but Lisa says we can find miscellaneous uses for them like wheel chocks on the utility trailer.
Lisa started by doing some painting on the upper structure of the porch. Initially she meant to paint the top of these boards, but determined that she'll need to do a bunch of sanding on it before it will take paint, and we're out of time. If we get another warm snap, she'll take a shot at it with the belt sander, then re-prime it with sanding sealer before repainting. She did not try to paint the trellis; she's concluded that it's in sufficiently poor shape that she just wants to replace if it possible.
I'm really pleased with how good the steps look with the fresh coat of paint on them.
And there's the deck done. Compare with what it looked like at the end of the day yesterday to see the improvement.
If we are fortunate enough to get another string of days warm enough to do so, Lisa would like to put another coat of paint over this first one. But in the meantime, we are relieved that we got the first coat done, as it should shed water and snow better. We have long-term plans to replace everything (possibly with Trex artificial boards), but not this year, so we continue to work on keeping things maintained and repaired as best we can for now.