Saving One Penny at a Time: It's Official!!! And Decking Out the House!

What a whirlwind day!

I am VERY happy to finally say, though, that the house is officially mine!!! It's been a month since my offer was accepted, so all thing considered, it wasn't THAT bad of a wait. I was just a bit eager to get started on some projects!!! And now that I have some major sweat already shed on the property, this is all the more fulfilling!!!

Let me see if I can't give you an idea of what today held...

First, though, I have to start with yesterday. I worked a 14-hour day, ending up in Cleveland at 7:00 P.M. last night. From there, I made my way over to Illinois where I finally arrived at 11:00 P.M. So I was up from 6:15 A.M. to 12:30 A.M. (Eastern times). Needless to say, I was incredibly tired.

But I had work to do!!!

So this morning I woke up and headed to the house around 8:30 A.M. There were so many external ends to tie up that I couldn't really tackle any projects...or so I thought. I had simply come home to sign papers. Well, this would end up being one of my most productive 28 hours!!!!

I switched the electricity and water to my name this morning. I bought homeowner's insurance this morning. Then I made a trip to the bank for a cashier's check for closing. Then I made a trip to Lowe's to buy some necessary items. I have changed my mind and decided to go with silver lights instead of bronze. I also wanted to check out a refrigerator ($550...not purchased) and paint for the outdoor deck.

From Lowe's, I headed back to the house, then to Subway to eat with Dad, then to my sister's house to pick up some dress clothes for closing (I was living out of a suitcase with none!), then to closing at 1:00 P.M. Closing took much longer than expected, but it's official!!! The keys are mine! (Ok, so really it's only "The key is mine!" and that will be important...). After closing I headed to a materials center to meet with my contractor at 2:30 P.M. I picked out siding (desert sand), shutters (wedgewood blue), and windows (front windows will have panes). I signed the contract with him, giving him the job and allowing him full access to the home. I gave him the key!

From there, it was back to Lowe's!!! This time I was intent on picking up some paint. I had let the idea of deck paint roll over in my mind for several hours now (and had researched it for a couple weeks), so it was time to drop the money. The only problem was which color out of the 30 to choose!!! A phone call with my sister helped me make my pick (I went opposite what she said...ha!), and I bought 3 gallons of Olympic Rescue It! deck paint in Timberline color.

Basically, my deck is so old and weathered and splintered that stain would not do the trick. I needed something that would coat it, and this product is supposed to do the trick! It's thicker than paint, and I'm hoping for a good cover.

Needless to say, my deck was a bit weathered...

No paint or stain in years. Splintered and cracked wood. Could it really work?!

Well, it was back to MY house now!!! Oh, that feels so good to say!!! After a quick stop back at my sister's for a paint bucket, I was ready to work!

I went at the project right away since I knew I was going to be losing daylight fast. My sister says the sun sets at 7:45 P.M. now! NOT good!!! I had about 3 hours of daylight left! I grabbed a hammer and hammered down EVERY nail...well over 100. And I'm glad I did...the deck went down in several spots. I then quickly cleaned the deck of "helicopters," dirt, leaves, and whatever else I could find (a windchime angel and our house debris from last week). Then I opened the can and started rolling!

I WAS THRILLED with the results! The paint was going on so smoothly and with great coverage. It is some thick stuff!!! I just started rolling away!

Starting to Rescue It! the deck! The coverage is going great.

***Note to self: When excited to get the deck done and eager to beat the sun from setting, please do not lose sight of the fact that the rails need painted, too.

Agh, I was eager to get goin' so much that I tackled the floor first! I knew I needed to paint the railings, but I knew that job would go much slower...so I made the bone-headed move of doin' much of the floor around the posts!!! I just wanted to see what it would look like! I finally made the wise move of leaving me some unpainted floor boards over in the general area, but it DID require some creative body-bending at times to reach the posts! Silly boy.

Starting to leave myself some work room to finish the railings!

Posts and railings done. NOW I can finish the floors!

The rest of the evening was spent painting. Mom ended up coming over after work and saving me. With both of us working, we were barely able to wrap up the first coat before nightfall! But oh, whate a difference this has made.

Such a HUGE difference! I am thrilled!

Before and After in one picture.

I don't remember the deck being this big!!! :)

I can't speak to the durability of the deck paint yet, but what I do know is that my old dilapidated deck that most every contractor recommended I pull out and rebuild is now an inviting place for hanging out with a few more years left in it!