It really is a love/hate relationship.

Sometimes, I get SO ANGRY over the fact that the woman who sold my house to me- a licensed REALTOR who works for one of my town's most prominent brokerages- was such a no-good, filthy liar. She took advantage of me, and flipped that house on the cheap over a period of ten years. I've learned quite a bit about deck construction in the past two months (wow, has it really been that long?), and the more I learn, the more obvious it becomes that a) her brother had no idea what he was doing and b) she outright lied to me about the materials used. Did you know that pressure-treated lumber is supposed to be stamped with all kinds of markings, saying where it was treated, how it was treated, etc.? Only TWO pieces of lumber that we pulled off that deck had any kind of stamp on them- and both of those pieces were ledger boards. The rest of the lumber was used, and some of it was even painted, from whatever prior life it had led. And all this, in a backyard they knew was prone to flooding. Sigh. Nevermind that the joists were not hung at proper spans, nevermind that they used rust-able nails in the joist hangers, nevermind that the support posts were not correctly set or spaced or utilized....

But, what's the use in whining and feeling victimized, right? It will all be fixed soon enough, and even better. My dad's design is going to be so strong that I could have 50 of my friends (do I have 50 friends?) out on it, and it wouldn't so much as creak. For those curious about this Hulk deck, it will have 2x6s spanning 16 inches on-center, with only five feet between the ledger and the rim joist. I'm not even concerned really with what it looks like, I just want it to be strong and built to last.

On the other hand, I really do love my house. I know I bitch a lot about it here, but that's just a by-product of the stress I feel in trying to manage it all on my own. Most nights after a 12 hour work day, I love coming home. A friend who is also young and owns his house told me I would find that my house would make a good companion. I didn't really get it back then. I think I do now.