Ta Da! Meet the New Deck

The construction crew from Koontz Construction has been hard at work the past two days. Come take a look.

Most of Monday was spent in setting the posts for the railing, fixing some siding on the house and replacing missing shingles on the roof, as we had also hired them for those jobs.

It doesn't look as if they accomplished much on the deck by the end of Monday, but we are very glad to have the other jobs finished, so it was worth the delay on the deck.


It's taking shape. And by the way, they discovered that the only thing holding the light fixture (which has never worked) is the wiring. Not good.



Oh my, this part of the job seems to go rather quickly. It's still early Tuesday morning at this point.

They are really moving now.

After consulting with us, they got lattice to cover the bottom of the deck framing.

And it's all finished except for the electrical work. The truth is that Josh had forgotten about that until I reminded him this afternoon when I returned home. The electrician will come by Thursday morning and replace the light fixture that is by the back door to the garage and add three outlets for the new deck. One will be on the wall of the garage while the other two will be out along the sides of the deck. I really didn't want to be limited by what we could put where and I certainly don't want extension cords running across the deck.

Now comes the fun part - decorating!

Things are kinda, sorta in their places. We will see how things work.

See that bare corner of the deck? I have my eye on a nice dining set, but I am waiting for my dear husband to okay the purchase.

This is nice. I hated being crowded on the old deck. This will be much nicer.

Weekend on the Deck

Since our wonderful construction crew lost a day last week to the weather, they asked if they could come work on our deck on Saturday. Sure, why not?

Koontz Construction, LLC is terrific, I tell ya! Josh, I would gladly recommend you and your crew to anyone and I would definitely hire you again. And you're not even finished yet!

All of the new decking is in place, if not yet screwed in. But this is definitely an improvement over what we had.

Whoot! I can now get down to my garden. I have already used these stairs to haul a hose up so that I could water the pots up on the deck. Wonderful! Why haven't these stairs been here all along?

Today, through circumstances beyond my control *cough*, I was relegated to the deck by my loving family. I guess they weren't up to dealing with mom-moods on this beautiful day.

Well, if I was to be "stuck" out here, I might as well make myself at home. So, I put up the umbrella so I would have shade throughout the day, set up the fan for a nice, steady breeze, got some reading material and whiskey sours (courtesy of the daughter) and tuned the radio to a local station that carries MRN so I could listen to the NASCAR race at Pocono.

Mmm, that's better... Family? What family?





Oh, and while we are out here, look at the new door to the garage. The poor guys had quite the time putting this in, as they found that the rough opening was one inch too short for the door. Perhaps this is why the old door frame was in such horrible shape? Our guess is that the builder cut the door down to fit the opening rather than fix the opening. Sadly, we're not surprised. We always said that we bought a three-year-old fixer-upper eleven years ago.

The step between the levels is now in.

Psst: do you see poor Minx looking out the laundry room door? The dear wants to be out on the deck with us but he refuses to wear his harness and leash, so he can't come outside. It's a dilemma.

Oh well. Minx didn't let it bother him too much. He is a laid-back kitty, after all.

The Deck Chronicles, Continued

Our diligent construction crew has been hard at work after the rains moved through.

By Thursday evening they had the new deck flooring installed. This is a composite decking that should last for many, many years. I like it already.

The stairs down off the side of the garage are taking shape. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to climbing down from my ivory tower.

First thing Friday morning found the crew tearing apart the railing on the old deck.




Whoot! I can now move between the two decks. A step will connect the two levels.





This is a family affair, as the grandfather (who also has a construction company) is helping out. The owner's brother is also working on the deck.





A bit of trivia for you: I used to wait on the grandfather occasionally when I was a teller at a local bank. And I can tell you that this man is an absolute sweetheart. He was always one of those customers you looked forward to greeting. He always had a smile on his face and left you with one of your own when he walked out the door.





Here, the stairs down from the other side of the new deck are getting put in.







Now it's getting dangerous. Watch out for that first step off the deck - it's a doozy.



We've been busy shuttling furniture and potted plants around so the crew can work.

They have gotten a lot accomplished today. Since they lost a day to the weather, the hard-working crew will be back tomorrow morning. They anticipate being finished by Wednesday, rain notwithstanding.

They did give me the standard legal disclaimer before they left for the day: "We've removed the railing. Please be careful and don't fall (or push each other!) over the side before we can replace the railing."

Just because we are a full story above the ground here? Well, I guess that would hurt.

Here you can see where they left off for the day. Have I mentioned that I am loving this new deck already?

This was one of my many projects for the day. We have wild grapes growing up the side of the deck, so I pulled some vines off and used an old round tub to form a wreath. Why? Just because I can...

And now I would like to wish my dear husband a very Happy Birthday!

Do you like your birthday present so far? Just wait until it is finished.

The Dawn of a New Deck

As promised, Monday morning arrived - as did the construction crew. This should be exciting.

In order to protect our neighbor's property, the backhoe traveled up and down the hill to the road behind our property. They were careful to keep clear of the neighbor's fencing, but also had to avoid running over our septic field.

The crew wasted no time in preparing the site. One of the workers was very happy to learn that I was giving away two of the burning bushes (winged Euonymous) that were growing in this area.

At one point I heard them talking about the fact that there was no topsoil in this area. Doesn't surprise me as nothing but weeds and volunteers would grow there. Bye bye weed patch.

By mid-morning, the area was prepped and the construction could begin.

After lunch, the materials arrived. Once again, the dead-end road behind the property was put to use.

They are moving quickly.

The end of day one has arrived.

The next day, the workers jump right in and finished the first part of the framing. Then they began working on the second half. The finished deck will be about 18' X 24'. Add that to the existing deck that is 12' X 24', and we will have quite the space for relaxing and entertaining.

This day went by quickly. Let's go out and see what they have accomplished.

The new, lower deck is taking shape. There will be stairs from the new deck down to the yard and those will run along the old deck.

Looking from the side of the garage. There also will be stairs from the landing next to the corner of the garage.

The back of the deck. In case you haven't figured it out yet, the rear of the house faces south, so this is a sunny spot.

Soon that honeysuckle and Virginia creeper (both volunteers) along the old deck will be history.

I can already picture myself relaxing out here on the new deck.

Unfortunately, thunderstorms are bearing down on us and more are in the forecast for tomorrow, so work may be interrupted for a day or so. Guess I'll just have to go out and run my errands (and shop for deck accessories...).

Change is in the Wind

We are finally moving forward on getting a new deck addition on the back of the house. I am so looking forward to seeing this project finished. As is, our current deck is an overgrown balcony - an island overlooking the back yard. You want to go down to the yard? Go back inside, through the front of the house and then walk around the house and down hill to get to the back yard. Then, reverse the procedure to get back up to the balcony. Tired yet? I know I am. I have put up with this situation for eleven years and I am ready for the change. Bring it on already!

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair...

A friend of my husband's drew up these plans for us. Thanks, Rich, you did a great job. I think that the finished deck will be just a bit different from this when all is said and done, though.

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This is the site before construction. Sigh, so much to do before the workmen even get here.





Thankfully, the daughter's boyfriend was more than happy to come over and help clean up. As it turned out, I really needed someone who wasn't afraid to get in and start trimming up a tree. I realize and accept that I am very tentative when it comes to hacking off tree limbs.

Here is our temporary nursery on the front porch. I have several perennials, a bush and four volunteer dogwood trees in pots here.

I woke up on Friday morning to see that the contractor and a helper were on site, getting an idea of what needed to be done on Monday. They were delighted to hear that I was giving away the winged Euonymus (burning bushes) that are in the area where the new deck will be. Later, they had an employee leave a truck full of gravel in front of the house over the weekend. I hope our neighbors don't mind too much.

I can't tell you how happy I will be once I can actually access the back yard from the deck. Yes, I love the solitude of my deck, but I am also a practical gal.

Saturday morning, while I let my sick family sleep in, I got to work on the existing deck. The decking and railing will be replaced as the current deck is fourteen years old and is showing its age.

Eleven years of outdoor decorating must now be removed.

I have never seen deck railing like this before. Let's hope I never see this again.

I will not be sorry to see this decking go. I have gotten enough splinters in my feet from these nasty pieces of wood already.

So stay tuned as we witness the amazing transformation of this deck and backyard.