If you make "only" $90,000 a year, can you afford to hire someone to stain the deck?

[Radiance]

Agree!

I tried to do my own landscaping one time, on a very small area, and it was a mess, it looked like it was done by a 3 year old. Needles to say I had to pay to get it done and lost the money I had spent on materials.

So maybe the question really is,
Can you afford to HAVE a deck?

In good theory staining should be taken from the "home maintenance" envelop of her budget.

I set aside money in case I need to reapair the fridge or the washer, things I wouldn't try to do that myself so I need to budget for it.

If you buy a house with a deck, or add a deck, how often does it need to te stained and how much does it cost to have it done. That amount needs to be added to the cost of deck ownership.

[cschin4]

I don't care for my deck. It is too hot and I am on hill so it is too windy to eat out there and even the grill blows out. If I had to do over again, no deck for me as I prefer a porch. But, I highly recommend those plastic wood composites over the treated lumber.

[amandasfinances]

From my experiences with my husband's great sense of optimism around DIY projects, my opinion is that unless you are truly an expert and have lots of experience, it can end up being more expensive to take on large projects yourself. You will end up hiring someone to fix it for you in the end, which takes more time and money!

[Goldy1]

I always considered my commute as part of "work" I used to work 8 hours but had to punch out for an hour lunch(up to 9 hoursnow) and my commute was aabout 30 mins or more so it took my 10 hours daily out of my life to earn what I got paid in wages for 8 hours.

It hink the "escape entertainment" was a bit over the deep end and one does not need an $8 lunch ever really.