Deck Remodel

When we bought our house three years ago we knew it needed a deck. But, we had to wait until we could afford one. That time finally came this summer. Yippee!!

The slivers the kids and I were getting from the rotten wood were terrible. We were very excited to get the project done....and I could put my needle and tweezers away.

We hired our good friend Vern to do the job. The demo began on the weekend when Cam could help. The kids helped too! It was fun to watch the old rotten deck coming off. We rented a huge dumpster to put all the old deck into.

Once the deck was off I could start to imagine how the new larger deck was going to look. We made the new deck 4 ft. wider than the old deck. 

PS...see that doorway under the deck? When we bought the house I had Vern take the door off and board it up.

Once the deck was gone we discovered these nice concrete stairs....that didn't match up with the door. Not very helpful!

Did you know that the dirt under your deck is really dry, really powdery and that kids love to play in it? I found that out and then spent weeks hollering for the kids (Sis) to stop digging in it...and tracking it all over the kitchen. 

How do you like my kitchen stool/back door stairway? If I could do this project over again I would have the deck built in the Spring when the kids are in school ALL DAY LONG. Can you imagine the inandout, inandout, inandout!!!

And...it got even more fun for the kids when they could jump from beam to beam, duck under, run along, fall, bump their head....

Just imagine if you were the builder. Vern is a saint!!

Here are some Before and After shots of the deck. One thing I really needed changed was this corner. My BBQ lives in a little cubby at the end of the deck. When I use it, I pull it out...but the deck wasn't wide enough. And the stairs were angled so there was not enough room. Kids would run up and down the stairs and the hot BBQ would be right next to them. 

Adding 4 ft. made such a difference! Plus the new stairs go off the end instead of at an angle. Now I have lots of room for the BBQ. 

The end of the deck had built in seating. We opted to not have any built ins. I am planning new deck furniture for next summer. So fun!

You can get a sense how much bigger the deck is by looking at the picnic table and how much space was created.

Old stairs. I didn't care for the angle nor did I love how wide they were. 

New stairs!

Overall view from back yard.

The scale of the new deck is so much better. Vern made the beautiful lattice to cover the underneath area of the deck. I love it!

We used a composite decking. No more rot, no more slivers! Plus, it feels so nice on your feet. The railing is cedar with a wire inlay. I am thrilled!