The deck is almost done — or what I did this Summer

I have not published a blog entry since August 16. I have been too tired at the end of long days to do much writing; about the only thing I have managed to do is snap some photos of the deck build. I did manage to pretty much keep up with the spraying of the sealer on all the cedar boards used to build the deck — every single board! To say I was tired at the end of every day is redundant. Typically, the days started for me at 5 AM sharp, as I had to be ready for Dave (the Contractor) and Bill (Dave’s helper), who built the deck; my job duties were limited to spraying sealer on every surface of each board; and also making occasional truck/trailer runs to Menards for more cedar and anchor bolts, and concrete and additional concrete bags for footers, and deck screws; and to Lowe’s (on a few occasions) to buy some hardware. In between we had days when the coolest temperature was 90°F, and highest was 99°F, with heat index as high as 115°F. Only in the last few days have the temperatures returned to sub-90°F. The house, at 74°F, feels plain chilly…

As I write this it is Monday, September 6 (the Labor Day holiday in the U.S., for my readers in the rest of the world); it is also the two-month mark since starting the “refurbish” of the old deck. If you follow the blog, you have read several articles about the findings early on; the deck truly needed a complete rebuild. And if you have just started reading the blog, you can catch up quickly, as this article and a few short ones in the next few days will give you complete details of what has transpired.

As work started, we learned that total replacement was needed; the damage to the structural members and much of the flooring was extreme.

Today I can summarize the deck condition in the following two photos. First, looking toward the Northwest, and showing a bit of the stairway at the extreme South end:

Looking toward the Northwest.

The following photo shows deck with a little detail of the extension just outside the kitchen and over the patio just outside the Family Room; in the upper level, making the turn, and heading straight West, is the wrap-around deck that goes toward the garage, and ends just past the mud room door; and a lower, stepped deck, starting in a huge landing at the pool area, and ending just outside the garage:

Looking West.

In the next two or three articles I will describe each part of this 1,600-square foot (approximate area) deck in detail. As we prepared for this work, I read on the Internet as much as I could, in the two weeks leading to awarding the contract. I will discuss details of the work, and will also publish photos, hoping that our deck replacement will help someone else who is right now also considering doing the same thing.

Dave and Bill have done an outstanding job. I will be glad to provide a written recommendation, if anyone in the region is interested in using their services.

A couple of teasers (the last two photos in the following gallery):

— Al Navas