Laying a solid foundation

We moved into our home, three years ago, knowing we needed to do a lot of DIY projects (and maybe hire out some things that are out of our scope as we could save up money). As busy parents and educators, amidst a global pandemic that changed everything, we started to chip away at some items on our home list that we could fully fund and DIY ourself.

Our deck is 30 years old, it’s as old as the house. We could tell there was an effort to paint it, probably right before it went on the market. After a year of living here, the deck was in horrible condition.

I took it upon myself to carve out time 2 summers ago to redo it. Matt was still really busy with the Ph.D., so I was on my own. A light sand and power wash, primer, and the absolute best deck paint that adheres to anything. It took weeks. It was expensive. But the before and after transformation was phenomenal. We actually started using our deck!

And then shortly after, it started peeling. And it wasn’t peeling the layer of paint I had just put on, it was pulling off the paint before it.

Why? Because the person before me didn’t lay a solid foundation. They slapped on paint over a stain, maybe unknowingly. Which will (and did) separate. The foundation to build on looked ok, but the process revealed some issues.

So this summer we begin scraping. Pulling off layers to get to the wood. The next steps will include items to completely strip, then sand the wood raw. There will be repairs, and then we will see how to seal. Because the wood is still viable. It needs some serious TLC, some deep travels down YouTube and the internet to research, and mostly our time to bring it back to a finished product.

In our family, we don’t half do things. If we are going to do something, we are going to do it well. It’s going to take time and energy, and we are satisfied when it is done correctly.

That drive transfers over into the business. Everything I do, I am giving you my best. Being a DIY and creative means that I have to appreciate the process. Sometimes things don’t turn out as expected. We learn and grow as we make, and I will take the time to learn and adjust.

So keep an eye on the progress we make on my Instagram stories. This deck is a beast. But I can’t wait to see the transformation.