Stripping

We have encountered our very first shitty homeowner project. And boy is it shitty.

The first owner of our house installed a beautiful, gigantic, multi-level deck. It's gorgeous. Here is a view from the pool area. (With Tess for a little something interesting)

The second owners of the house were seriously delinquent in their external upkeep. The roof needs work, the gardens were completely overgrown and the deck is in serious need of refinishing. Serious need. Here is a photo that lets you see how bad the floor of the deck was:

(Note in this photo we are doing what we love to do best: eating and drinking poolside. Even before the pool was open.)

So about four weeks ago I decided it was time to get our act together and refinish the deck. And because we weren't at all partial to the orange cedar color alongside our beige siding, we decided it was the best idea to strip the old stuff off and start new with whatever colors we wanted.

Dudes I want to kill myself for having this idea.

All the products say they are "easy to use". But no, I'm here to tell you they are bitch ass awful. And dangerous. I narrowly escaped losing both eyes and have the chemical burns to prove it (not to mention the burns on my arms, even though I DID wear protective gloves).

The bending. The stretching. The squatting. The sweating. I even climbed a ladder in my flip-flops, which if you know me, you know this means business.

After working at it a little at a time over the last few weeks, we decided this weekend we would blitz and get this thing done. At least the stripping part. Then the deck could dry and we could apply some color.

I'm here to tell you that after swearing and yelling and sweating and sunburning and chemical burning and muscle pulling and more yelling there are no after photos because IT'S STILL NOT DONE.

If I ever tell you our deck needs re-done please do me a favor and come over in the dark of night and light it on fire.