Yard Re-Do, Part 2: Deck

Before we first bought our home we paid for an inspector to come out and look it over. He mentioned to us that the deck needed some TLC. Really, it was pretty obvious it needed something. What he failed to notice or mention was that it needed more than just TLC, it needed to be replaced. After years of wear and winters of snow piled up on it, the support beams underneath had begun to rot, a couple of them nearly completely through. We didn't realize this until one day when Kyle stepped out on it and felt the decking begin to give way underneath him. It was then we decided it needed to be torn down and replaced.

Deck before. Kyle started working on taking it down before I got my camera out. So here it is at the beginning of deconstruction.

Here is some of the rotting wood we discovered during tear down.

After the deck was torn down the house sat for over a year with no new decking. Until this summer when we fully began to tackle our backyard transformation. While I was in Washington for my sister's wedding open house, Kyle and his dad put up the frame for the main portion of the deck. A few weeks later Kyle began work on the rest. Since we put in the patio last fall, we decided to shrink down the size of the deck to just a landing down to the patio, instead of clear across the back of the house.

We did a lot of back and forth on what type of material to use for the decking. Composite vs. redwood. It was a hard decision! Ultimately when it was time to make the decision we opted for the redwood. Composite has a lot of fantastic advantages, but we decided redwood was a better choice for us right now: Kyle understood how to work with it, we could stain it whatever color we would like, it doesn't get melt-your-feet-off-hot in the sun, and it costs half as much as composite. 

Look! A deck! No railing, but the decking is complete!

I love the wide stairs. They are the same width as the deck.

Once it was time for the railing the construction became a two man job. I got out my work gloves and Kyle set me to work cutting down the balusters.  

I didn't get any pictures of putting the railing up because I was busy helping Kyle by holding railing in place, checking that everything was level, and putting screws in place while Kyle came along with the drill to secure them down. It was a straight week of deck building in the evening. We would eat dinner and then head outside to work on the deck. Some evenings I wouldn't make it out until the girls were in bed, other times they went to Papa and Rara's house to play. Kyle and I would work until dark, until we really couldn't see any more. Then inside for a shower, quick TV show and then bed.

Now it's done. Another project to check off of our forever-long to-do list. 

And we love it! We still need to pick out a stain. That can wait for a little bit. We're just happy the construction is over and we have a functional deck once again!

Notice the addition of curbing? This yard is starting to come together! Next step: sod.