Be Careful: I Drip

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Bring on the space aliens! The hot tub has landed.

For those who may be new to this blog, I’ve often joked that the minute I get a hot tub, unnecessary and invasive visits from extra-terrestrial beings will commence. So far, this has not happened, but the hot tub is only a few months old. Unless the ash falling from the sky isn’t from nearby forest fires in the state of Washington. Perhaps it’s alien creatures, looking to soak for a while—and I’ve managed to bring them inside the house, stuck to my hair.

In any case, the hot tub is here. The landscaping is in, and the deck guy has built a beautiful deck around the tub. The only task remaining was staining, so Nate and I tackled the project together this weekend. This means that I have dripped stain everywhere and stepped in it and sat in it as well. But here are some tips I learned in retrospect:

  • Get Cracking: Use a brush to jam stain in between the boards as best as you can to create the illusion of a seamless wonder of color. It’s just an illusion. You will see missed spots. Just drink a margarita and stop looking.
  • Box Yourself In: It’s inevitable. You’ll start staining a portion in front of you and behind you and realize that you can’t go anywhere without stepping in wet stain. In other words, you’ve created a crop circle for the extraterrestrials to land. Just gingerly leap off the deck and strain your back to fill in the “crop circle” with a brush.
  • Use All the Tools: It took us about 2-3 hours to get one coat of stain on the deck. In that amount of time, we used tape, brushes, rollers, socks, water, a sander, washcloths, paper towels, a house key, a can of Coca-Cola, and a mobile phone to listen to the football game. It’s not unheard of, in our house, to also use an array of ladders, step ladders, aluminum foil, and a wad of chewing gum.
  • Keep the Cat Inside: The cat is most likely in cahoots with the extraterrestrials. Sometimes, though, you may find yourself thinking that the cat’s tail is the perfect size/shape for that one odd piece of decking, but don’t go there. It does not end well when the cat goes back inside and drags its tail against the walls, carpet, drapes, and couch.
  • Taunt the Space Aliens: Relax inside the hot tub when it’s all over. Send steam like extraterrestrial bat signals into the night sky and set the lights for neon green.

Your Turn: Did you tackle any projects this weekend or week?

Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

25 thoughts on “Be Careful: I Drip”

    1. Yes–we are still sore from our workout yesterday staining the deck, so we got in the hot tub for just a bit–until the smoke outside became overwhelming, but it was nice. We plan on using it a lot this fall.

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    1. We actually really enjoyed staining the deck together–though we probably didn’t sound like we did to the neighbors–lots of “Ouch! My back! Ah! I dropped something–again!”–but it was really nice to work together on a project–and now we get to relax a bit together, which is fun. We’ll probably add more plants throughout the years, so it’s fun to keep imagining possibilities. Cheers!

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  5. The deck looks lovely and so does the hot tub!
    It seems so modern too – I guess the models have advanced since we have seen anyone with a home hot tub
    And last week we added a light layer of stain to our stairs – dried fast and looks good

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    1. Thank you so much! We did kind of a modern vibe for the outside. The house is based on sort of a Craftsman style idea (most houses in the Pacific Northwest are), but people do all kinds of things inside/outside. Staining, I think, is such satisfying work. I enjoy it. My back doesn’t, but my heart/soul do.

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    1. There is a lid to the hot tub, so it will stay closed, when we’re not in it, but yes, I’ve heard of bears that like to take dips in hot tubs every once in a while–hope that does not happen here!

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