
The porch hallway after being stripped
Apparently, you don’t actually need a pump sprayer and a power washer to strip a porch floor and railings. Tools on hand, if they include a plastic pail, a paint brush, a scrubbing brush and a garden hose are just fine. It helps if you are single-minded and a bit crazy, but it is probably not essential.
In a way it is unfortunate that this project ended with such satisfactory results. It will do nothing to stop my delusion that I can do anything with the junk lying about the cellar and garage, and I will continue to dive into things best left to the professionals.
Last night, while I slept off the effects of 8 hours of brute labor, the pine pollen season started as evidenced by a light green film on The Hunter’s truck. It seems silly to try to paint the walls tomorrow with green dust clinging to everything, so this means I have a legitimate reason to delay for a few days picking up a paint brush.
I can’t even begin to express how grateful I am.

Before: A corner of the porch showing the semi solid, fairly ugly and worn out stain

After: the stripped floor and rails (they were still a bit wet when I took this picture; they are continuing to lighten.)