DIY Solar Post Lights

Last year we added on to our deck and upgraded

the decking material and redid the railings.

Josh and crew of Koontz Construction

did a wonderful job for us.

This year I wanted to focus on lighting for the deck.

I had thought that solar post lights would

be a wonderful addition.

However,

I found that these can be difficult to find

and when found,

they are not cheap.*

I, though, am cheap.

*I recently found solar post lights

at Wally World (Wal Mart) for $30.

Each.

And I have 12 posts on my deck.

Time to rethink this.

Wally World did have these solar lights,

meant to be stuck in the ground with the

stake provided.

These lights only cost $5 each.

Now, how to make this work?

After measuring the hollow metal post for the light,

I determined that I needed a dowel that was 1-1/4 inch thick.

I had hoped that the dowel would be like dimensional lumber

in that a 2"x4" is actually 1-1/2"x3-1/2".

No such luck,

so I got busy sanding.

And sanding.

And sanding.

Then I had to cut the dowel into 1/2" thick disks.

I do have a circular saw and a jig saw,

but it seemed that a hand saw and the miter box

would be the better way to go here.

Hey, I said this was DIY,

not easy.

I located the center of the post and drilled a hole**

straight down.

I decided to place a washer between the top of the post

and the dowel so that water couldn't

wick up into the dowel.

I drilled a hole in the center of the disk

and then used a deck screw to fasten the dowel to the post.

The hollow metal post on the light slips over the dowel

and is held securely in place.

**Use a drill bit that is just smaller than the screw being used.

And the job is done.

Time to pat myself on the back.






And just think,
I saved my husband $300
by doing it myself.






Let there be light.






Looking good.

Next project, please.

Life on the New Deck

We just love our new deck. Unfortunately for us, the weather has not been cooperating and our time out there is necessarily limited. If it isn't storming, it is unseasonably hot and humid. All in all, not the best weather to be out in unless you absolutely have to be.

Minx wants to know why he can't go out on the new deck.

Look who I found out in the garden (and brought up on the deck for the family to see*). It's Yertle. We hadn't seen Yertle the turtle in years. I guess the deck construction brought Yertle out of hiding. Yertle is an Eastern Box Turtle.

*Please do be careful when handling wildlife. And dear Yertle was returned to the garden after this photo op. No turtles were harmed in the creation of this post.

Our Gray Tree Frogs have already found the new table and umbrella. I love these guys.

Isn't he/she adorable?

The new seating area is set up. A couple of the chairs from the new dining set flank the old garden swing.

This is a nice dining set and umbrella. I'm glad to have that umbrella in place, though. That 13-foot umbrella is heavy!

Aha! I found a way around our hot and steamy weather. I got up at 7 am the other morning and sat outside with my cup of hot tea and a book.

Late in the day I again went back outside and plugged in some lights and lit some candles. Nice.

Very nice.

Josh, you and your crew did a great job! Thanks.

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...).