So I took the day off today. My hands hurt so bad in the morning it was hard to do much, so I decided to work smarter. I got out my Dremel, untouched in possibly a decade, so I could dig out the wood around all the screw heads that were still buried in planks. Then I had to dig a bunch of much out from the screw where the bit goes. I dug and dug some more and was only successful in getting maybe 60% of one row of screws.

Got the crowbar back out and managed to free a few planks, but the sun was heating up. I decided to rest my hands a bit more and attempt to tackle the screws left behind in the joists. Same deal but without the Dremel - dig out the square hole in the top, blow away the detritus, move on to the next. Then go through with the drill and do my best to back them out. Which required more pressure on my hands in the sore spots, and under the full midday sun.

I called it a day.

Done*!

The tiny looking stack of wood is mine. The guy didn’t get the little doohickey off the back of his truck. It was so little and my street’s pretty narrow. So I helped him get the wood onto my lawn by hand. Then I carried it to the backyard all on my lonesome. Let me tell you, 5/4″x6″x16' pressure treated wood is not only expensive, it’s also very heavy. 

Meanwhile, I spent a good chunk of the morning getting everything off my deck and the beginnings of taking it apart.