The Deck is complete!

Ok, Ok, I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted.  I’m currently out of town on business, and haven’t had the time to keep everyone updated.  For that, I’m sorry.  I’m hoping to get some pictures up of our COMPLETE deck WITH Furniture before Stephanie and I head off to Europe for a couple of weeks.

I’ll have some pictures Saturday, and then hopefully, we’ll be able to post some of the better holiday pictures of our European trip over the next few weeks!

We’re going to London (I’m going for business, and Stephanie is going to enjoy London!) for the next two weeks and the second week is going to be a vacation for us.  We’re taking off out of London to Dublin, Ireland, then on over to Glasgow for a couple of days. 

I’m hoping to take several pictures and as long as I can find some free interned while I’m there, maybe make a post or two.  I don’t think free wi-fi will be readily available, but I’ll be keeping an eye out!

If not, I’ll work to make some posts anyway, and then bulk upload them here. 

That’s it for now!  Hope everyone has a great day!

Start laying that floor!

Today, the guys were very busy finishing out the framing and starting the decking (laying down the floor to walk on).  This is the longest part, but also the most exciting to watch, because this is where we’re actually getting something to walk on!

So, I took a little walk today on my new deck pieces.  I had to be careful for the obvious reasons:

• No rails yet


• Center supports not installed underneath


• Not everything is as secure as it may appear

So, carefully sticking to the outside edge where all of the support is, I slowly walked to the “deep end” (opposite from where I’m standing in the picture above) and took this:

Notice that one of the posts has a sleeve on it.  All will be sleeved like this, and will be capped as well.  Here’s a closeup of the sleeve:

Just after taking this picture, the rain came in and it started pouring, so I had to run inside.  Not to worry, though.  I took my time getting safely back inside after playing on the deck for a little bit (all of about 3 minutes just to get these pictures!).

Anyway, another day with quite a bit of progress!  The goal for tomorrow is to finish the decking, get the center support system installed, and then if time allows, get some stairs built and installed.  Next week, we’ll most likely get the railing for the entire deck completed, and then will just have to worry about the rails on the steps.  But we’ll see then….

 

The Creation Story

 NEVER HEARD CREATION EXPLAINED THIS WAY BEFORE !!!
 
 In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the
 Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red
 vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
 
 Then using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and
 Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man
 said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some
 sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.
 
 And God created the healthful yogurt that Woman might keep the figure that
 Man found so fair. And Satan brought forth white flour from the wheat, and
 sugar from the cane and combined them. And Woman went from size 6 to size
 14.
 
 So God said, "Try my fresh green salad." And Satan presented Thousand-Island
 Dressing, buttery croutons and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman
 unfastened their belts following the repast.
 
 God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetables and olive oil in
 which to cook them." And Satan brought forth deep fried fish and
 chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter. And Man gained more
 weight and his cholesterol went through the roof.
 
 
 God then created a light, fluffy white cake, named it "Angel Food Cake," and
 said, "It is good." Satan then created chocolate cake and named it "Devil's
 Food."
 
 God then brought forth running shoes so that His children might lose those
 extra pounds And Satan gave cable TV with a remote control so Man would not
 have to toil changing the channels. And Man and Woman laughed and cried
 before the flickering blue light and gained pounds.
 
 Then God brought forth the potato, naturally low in fat and brimming with
 nutrition. And Satan peeled off the healthful skin and sliced the starchy
 center into chips and deep-fried them. And Man gained pounds.
 
 God then gave lean beef so that Man might consume fewer calories and still
 satisfy his appetite. And Satan created McDonald's and its 99-cent double
 cheeseburger. Then said, "You want fries with that?" And M an replied, "Yes!
 And super size them!" And Satan said, "It is good.." And Man went into
 cardiac arrest.
 
 God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery. Then Satan created HMOs.

The Deck Takes Shape

Well, today was a beautiful day!  We had two carpenters on site today, so things went much faster.  The deck frame is completely bolted to the house, and the sturdiness is taking shape. 

 As I look out my Kitchen door, I see quite a bit of change over what we used to have. 

Anyway, the posts are up above the deck, and it looks like the Trex decking will start being laid in place tomorrow.  If all goes well, we should be able to walk on it tomorrow afternoon or Thursday afternoon.  We’ll have to see, as the weather here has been pretty unstable (forcasts for scattered showers keep us looking at the sky!).  We’ve been pretty fortunate so far though, as the rain has hit after the workday is done.

 

One note of consequence on the Trex stuff today.  The rails that we are getting only come in six foot lengths, so we tried to make that work.  Unfortunately, we were not able to get the six foot lengths to work properly with the design of the deck, so we’re going to have to trim them back a bit.  The distance between the posts is 49.5 inches, which is just over 4 feet.  So, we’re going to lose two feet of each segment of railing (that stuff is quite expensive!).  This was a tough call, but after looking at all of the options, this appears to leave the deck posts with an almost perfect symmetry, which Stephanie and I like.

I can’t wait to see what it will look like tomorrow!  These guys have been going solid all this week and I think we’re going to have two carpenters through the remainder of the week, so hopefully, we’ll have some walking space by Saturday!

That’s all for now! 

Today's Progress on the new deck

Well, today started with the expectation that there would be two team members working on my deck.  But due to uncontrollable circumstances, only one was able to make it.  The one that made it worked all day, and got quite a bit accomplished though.  By the end of the day, all of the materials were delivered, and the installation was started (whew!).

 Here’s where we started:

and the Trex Composite materials:

Here’s where we ended up:

Not really as far as I’d hoped, but it’s a good start considering the circumstances.  Hopefully tomorrow, there will be two people and the progress will show it!  I’m still happy with what was done, as it’s really good for just one person!  We did some measurements at the house and at the furthermost part of the house.  The difficulty is with one person keeping the entire deck square.  It appears that the one man crew has done a fantastic job of keeping everything perfectly level, and there was only 1/8 of an inch difference in the measurements!

I would consider that pretty close to perfect if you ask me!

Photos on this site

All photos on this site have been taken with a NIkon Coolpix 5000 that I just bought.  I am really impressed with all of the features that are packed into this little baby.  For more information on this camera, check out Digital Photography Review.

A little background on the deck and what we're doing

I thought after posting these pictures, that I should give a little background on what we’re planning for the new deck.  We’ve chosen to go with Trex Accents Composite decking.  Rick Bacon Construction is who we were recommended to for the construction.  After viewing some of his work in person, I was quite impressed (the pictures on his web site do not do his work justice). 

Rick gave me a fair price for the work that he’s doing for me, and has gone the extra mile to work with me to ensure that I am getting the best deal possible.

Tomorrow, the framing for the deck will be delivered and weather permitting, the frame will be started.  I’ll post more on that later.  But for now, I’ll let the wildlife enjoy my back yard!

Deck's Gone!

On Friday, we had the initial process started to replace the deck.  Here’s what the back of our new house looks like now! 

 

Here’s the “before shot” of the deck.  It was a 12’ x 12’ standard deck.  The house was built in 1984, and this was the original deck, and appears to not have been treated in many years.  After putting many swings of a hammer back into the nails (and the nails responding by coming right back out), we decided it was time to get a little more forceful.

 

My New Home!

Stephanie and I purchased this home on Memorial Day weekend, and I thought I’d blog about the changes we’re making, and how the house looks.  Here’s a picture of the house from the Front: