A New Deck!

Wow, that’s a post title I’ve been waiting to write for many years now.  Last weekend I told you how we had torn down our old deck in preparation for rebuilding it.  And while I was writing that my super brother-in-law Josh was out building the new deck!  The construction is now complete, and our inspection passed this afternoon, so I can’t wait another minute to share the story with you.

Way back last year we started drawing up plans for our new deck.  The new deck would be much like the old one, in that there would be two levels, one outside the dining room French doors and one outside the sliding door in the den.  But we wanted to redesign the stairs since no one liked the long string of steps that landed on the patio.  Plus, they were scary.  We decided to move the steps to the other side of the deck, into the side yard where they would be out of the way of the patio (bigger patio = bigger parties!)  We broke them into two strings with a landing in between which would be easier to transverse and more aesthetically pleasing.  The new deck would be constructed with 6x6 posts so it would be super strong and safe.  It would also be one foot wider and two feet longer than the old deck.  (“I wish my deck was smaller,” said no one, ever.)  I figured we were only going to do this once, so we’d better make sure it was big enough for the future.

After all that deliberating, research, and planning, we finally settled on a design.  Here is the final plan that Michael’s dad drew for us.  Thanks Mike!

Last Friday afternoon Josh and his crew arrived and began framing the bottom deck.

They dug the holes for the footings and attached the posts to support the deck.

Joists and then decking boards were next.  By the end of day 1, we had a lower deck.  :)  Riley deemed it safe to go out the sliding doors again. :)  She didn’t care for the two foot drop we had last week.

The next morning the crew returned at 7am to start work.  Framing for the second level began.  Good morning neighbors!  Hope you like being awakened by the sounds of saws and nail guns on a Saturday! :)

Posts and joists…

Decking going on…

Then they started building the stairs on the side.

It’s coming along!

Then I went away for lunch and came back three hours later and this is what had happened!  Swift work! :)

Railings going up on the top level…

Looking good!

By 6pm they had finished construction, cleaned up and were off.  Time to take pictures!!

I love the new stairs on the side.

We might have to move the gate, though. hehe ;)

The top deck is so much bigger now, there is room to walk around the table!

The old deck used to end before the kitchen window.  Now it extends two more feet so I can clean the window from the deck.  Josh and his crew replaced the siding where it was cut out for the old deck post.  It looks great!

The new stairs exit on the other side next to the doors.

They go down and turn back to the lower deck. 

I love the 6x6 braces in the corners. Looks really cool!

And now we have actual posts holding up the top deck next to the cantilever.  The old deck was just attached to the cantilever but no posts.  This is much better. :)

As you can see we still have a lot of work to do on the patio and landscaping.  Stay tuned for all the details!

And of course, last but not least, a before and after comparison!

Thank you Josh and crew!  I am super excited about my new deck!! :)  Can’t wait to see how it all looks when we finish the patio, put the plants back in and get some lattice up.  Come back soon!