Our Project

So, our first major on our house is refinishing the deck. (The shutters are all off b/c we want to repaint them...all except that one b/c the screws were stripped) This project is taking FOREVER! We didn't realize that there are 5 layers of paint on the deck and the three middle layers do not come off together with the chemicals...they are coming off one by one. We have looked into buying a radiant heating machine that will take it off, or Eric thinks that if we rent one of those large wood sanders than people use to refinish hard wood floors, that we could just sand it all off. I'm not sure what is more cost effective, but I'm tell you that the chemical stripper by itself will take a lifetime (well, at least the next couple of months) and we just don't have time for that. So, if anyone has any ideas what would be best, fastest and most cost effective-all suggestions are welcomed.
This was the starting color-beige. It was already chipping when we moved in and we thought there were only going to be 2 layers of paint...how wrong we were.

The beige layer came off pretty easy...it's the 3 gray layers underneath that have been the pain.
This is what the porch looks like right now...1/4 of it mostly down to the wood, the middle section (the dark gray) has been the area we've worked the last couple of days and the rest is what we still have to work on...yay! On a few boards we have actually come to the wood itself. It's a beautiful orange/red color. We aren't sure what kind of wood it is, but we like the color.
One day it will be beautiful...we are sure.