During a momentary hallucination of true cash liquidity in June, A. and I decided that we would have someone else come and restain our deck this year. Three+ years ago, I stained the flat surfaces. We haven't touched the railings or the +of+100_3033.JPG)
10ft high arbor that spans 250 sq. feet in the four years that we've lived here. For me to take on that project, I'd end up essentially ignoring the kids for a week.
Normally, we are DIYers. Tile or Pergo? check. Landscaping? check. Painting? check. Plumbing? of course. We don't do electrical, because as A. puts it "risk of death is too high."
Now deck staining isn't rocket science. It shouldn't cost as much as a vacation to contract it out either. Through mutual acquaintance, I found my man. Our relationship proceeds as follows:
day 1: time to power wash. Deck-man arrives on time, but power washer breaks and needs to be repaired.
day 4: Power washer still isn't repaired, but deck-man borrows from a pal and cleans off the old paint.
day 5: Car trouble
day 6: More car trouble - needs to buy new car
day 7: Needs to register new car
day 8: Stains some of deck. After one hour, needs to take child to doctor appt.
day 9: Tries to stain arbor. tells me that the stain isn't right. I go and buy new stain.
day 10: It might rain. It doesn't rain.
day 11: Ditto.
day 12: Against our agreement, he tries to spray the arbor. Of course, gray stain splatters everywhere-- on the siding, the already stained deck, the BBQ grill cover.
day 13: I alert deck-man to the splatter problems. He agrees to come and fix them.
day 14: He arrives to try and fix problem. Stain comes off of house no problem. Gray stain doesn't pressure wash off of natural stain colored deck.
day 15: Deck-man needs to rent a sander.
At this point I head out of town. It doesn't surprise me to return home after three weeks and find that nothing has changed in deck-land.
Week 6: We break up. Deck-man tells me he's working a new job. Offers to return the portion of the job already paid for in installments.
Day 41: Kids in basement watching second movie of the morning. I'm finishing up the sanding and staining of the deck. I sanded off all of the large gray blotches. A. and I have decided that the spray splatter gives the deck "character."
When I do the job myself, at least I can take responsibility for my own mistakes. I'm back to DIY.
+of+100_3033.JPG)
10ft high arbor that spans 250 sq. feet in the four years that we've lived here. For me to take on that project, I'd end up essentially ignoring the kids for a week.Normally, we are DIYers. Tile or Pergo? check. Landscaping? check. Painting? check. Plumbing? of course. We don't do electrical, because as A. puts it "risk of death is too high."
Now deck staining isn't rocket science. It shouldn't cost as much as a vacation to contract it out either. Through mutual acquaintance, I found my man. Our relationship proceeds as follows:
day 1: time to power wash. Deck-man arrives on time, but power washer breaks and needs to be repaired.
day 4: Power washer still isn't repaired, but deck-man borrows from a pal and cleans off the old paint.
day 5: Car trouble
day 6: More car trouble - needs to buy new car
day 7: Needs to register new car
day 8: Stains some of deck. After one hour, needs to take child to doctor appt.
day 9: Tries to stain arbor. tells me that the stain isn't right. I go and buy new stain.
day 10: It might rain. It doesn't rain.
day 11: Ditto.
day 12: Against our agreement, he tries to spray the arbor. Of course, gray stain splatters everywhere-- on the siding, the already stained deck, the BBQ grill cover.
day 13: I alert deck-man to the splatter problems. He agrees to come and fix them.
day 14: He arrives to try and fix problem. Stain comes off of house no problem. Gray stain doesn't pressure wash off of natural stain colored deck.
day 15: Deck-man needs to rent a sander.
At this point I head out of town. It doesn't surprise me to return home after three weeks and find that nothing has changed in deck-land.
Week 6: We break up. Deck-man tells me he's working a new job. Offers to return the portion of the job already paid for in installments.
Day 41: Kids in basement watching second movie of the morning. I'm finishing up the sanding and staining of the deck. I sanded off all of the large gray blotches. A. and I have decided that the spray splatter gives the deck "character."
When I do the job myself, at least I can take responsibility for my own mistakes. I'm back to DIY.
(Left) Deck with character.
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