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" Having the nation&amp;#039;s ugliest deck wouldn&amp;#039;t seem to be anything to brag about, but Dave and Julie Owsinki of Kentwood, MI have learned otherwise. They not only bragged about their dilapidated structure, they were rewarded for it by entering pictures of it into the zany Ugliest Deck Contest sponsored by Sikkens, a manufacturer of interior and exterior wood finishing products. For their efforts (or the lack of them) the Owsinkis were awarded with a $10,000 deck makeover by Sikkens. Perhaps Makeover is the wrong word. The original 1970s structure will be torn down and replaced with a new deck. First word of advice to the Owsinkis regarding their new deck: Don&amp;#039;t forget to pull a building permit. I found the contest enlightening because when I think I&amp;#039;m falling behind with home maintenance I think of a little mildew here, some leaves there, perhaps a bit of peeling paint. Then I had a look at the submissions for the Ugliest Deck (ugliestdeck.com). Suddenly I feel better about my house and everything having to do with its maintenance. If these folks would have just read Popular Mechanics, they would have known how to go about maintaining (or even building) their decks.\u2014Roy Berendsohn "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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