We've always enjoyed sitting on our deck in the summer, having dinner and socializing with friends. By dinner time the deck is completely in the shade, so we can eat dinner on a hot summer day in the coolness of the shade. The deck was never in great shape, but it held us up. The stairs were slightly sketchy but also performed their duties. We had to put a rug in front of the back door to cover up the giant gap between the boards - more than once we nearly lost our keys down through that space (then we finally were smart enough to put a rug down). Re-planking the deck has been on Nick's house projects list for a long time and this past Memorial Day weekend the job was taken on with the help of my dad and my cousin Eric.
In just a day and a half, they took down all the railings, tore up all the old boards (no small feat - many sawzall blades were broken), fixed up the support beams underneath, and put down new planks. The steps were rebuilt so we no longer have to carefully tread on the bottom step (which does take some of the challenge of getting to the back door away). My dad and Nick finished up the steps, put the railings back on and could stand back and admire a job very well done.
The finished product didn't quite happen that weekend. The stringers for the stairs on the west side of the deck broke, which required a trip to the building supply store, which was closed on Memorial Day. So, when Nick's parents came up, Nick and his dad finished up the steps (another one of those smaller projects that turned into a bigger project. The slope of the steps was different - so Nick had to do some creative problem solving to make them work). Now all that is left to do is stain the deck and the stairs. With treated lumber one is supposed to wait a bit before staining, so we are waiting for stain to be on sale at Sherwin Williams and then Nick will finish up the project.
Here's what it looks like so far:
Here's Lilly enjoying dinner on the deck:
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| The deck before (there was railing on the other side of the steps, I just didn't get to the before picture quite in time!) |
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| Rushing to get the planks on before the sun set. |
In just a day and a half, they took down all the railings, tore up all the old boards (no small feat - many sawzall blades were broken), fixed up the support beams underneath, and put down new planks. The steps were rebuilt so we no longer have to carefully tread on the bottom step (which does take some of the challenge of getting to the back door away). My dad and Nick finished up the steps, put the railings back on and could stand back and admire a job very well done.
The finished product didn't quite happen that weekend. The stringers for the stairs on the west side of the deck broke, which required a trip to the building supply store, which was closed on Memorial Day. So, when Nick's parents came up, Nick and his dad finished up the steps (another one of those smaller projects that turned into a bigger project. The slope of the steps was different - so Nick had to do some creative problem solving to make them work). Now all that is left to do is stain the deck and the stairs. With treated lumber one is supposed to wait a bit before staining, so we are waiting for stain to be on sale at Sherwin Williams and then Nick will finish up the project.
Here's what it looks like so far:
Here's Lilly enjoying dinner on the deck:
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