That one weekend I tried to refinish my deck and everything went wrong

I decided last June to finally strip and stain my old deck. Thought it would take a day, but the power washer broke after 20 minutes. Then I realized the stain I bought was 2 years old and had separated, so that was a bust. Ended up spending $80 on a new washer rental and another $45 on fresh stain. Finally got it done by Sunday evening, but my back hurt for a week after. Has anyone else had a simple DIY project turn into a whole weekend ordeal?

3 comments

3 Comments

knight.felix24d ago

The deck refinishing story reminds me of when I tried to replace a single faucet in my bathroom. Simple job, right? Got the old one off fine, but the new one's fittings were a different size than the supply lines. Ended up making three trips to the hardware store because I kept buying the wrong adapters. By the time I got it all working, I'd cut my hand on a pipe thread and decided to just replace both supply valves too while I was at it. Six hours later and three times the money spent, I had a working faucet and a new appreciation for hiring plumbers.

cole_baker24d ago

Yeah I feel like every DIY project secretly costs twice as much time and money as you expect lol.

oscarc1224d ago

Read somewhere that the average homeowner spends 50 bucks on tools for a job they could hire out for 40, and then the tools just sit in the garage forever. That faucet story is a perfect example. Three trips to the store and a cut hand, that's practically a rite of passage for DIY. I swear every supply line and valve in my house is a slightly different size, like the builders just grabbed whatever was on sale that week.