When you finish re-staining the deck, you get a clean, sealed surface that won't splinter under your bare feet and a wood grain that actually looks alive again. The physical work takes a solid weekend of cleaning, sanding, and rolling on the stain, but the real trick is timing it for early autumn before the heavy rains start. Booking supplies or contractors in the shoulder season often lands you better availability and avoids the frantic summer rush.
Before you hand over any money, always get at least three different quotes from local pros to make sure you aren't overpaying for labor. Once you have a firm price around $700, you can map out a plain path to cover it without letting interest eat into your budget.
Remember that the 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers is a hard deadline, not free money. If you still have a balance left when those 15 months are up, the card kicks in standard interest on the whole original amount.