A Little Deck Work

When we first bought our house, there was only one small deck off the living room and master bedroom and it had a gross awning that was more mold than awning. When we replaced the awning it brightened the deck up a lot, but it was still a little scary as it is cantilevered out from the house, with a three story drop to the ground.

After a few years of living in the house we added a lot more deck space, with a larger deck below the existing one and another running the entire length of the ground floor of the house. This spring I was cleaning up those decks when I decided it was finally time to give the upper deck a facelift.

I measured everything and went over to the local lumberyard to order the wood, under the delusion I would be able to take on this project myself. Unfortunately, or fortunately, I soon realized I was in over my head and called my friend Mark, who is a contractor, to take over.

I knew I had some rot on the face boards that are exposed to the weather, but I didn't expect to find problems on the joists. Mark was able to cut away all the rot and shore up all the joists with pressure treated wood, so we won't have any more problems.

The end result looks great, and it is so much sturdier I think we could have a dance party out there now. Can't wait to get the new awning up.