You know how sometimes you have to live somewhere for a couple of years before you know exactly the kinds of DIY projects you want to tackle? The kinds of projects that will neatly fit in with the way you live in your house day in and day out. Well, we came up with just such a project and this one only took us three days from start to finish! Hallelujah!
The main entry to our little farmhouse is thru the screened in porch on the back of our house near the parking area for our vehicles. There is one step up before you enter the porch thru a screen door......a screen door that has a monster strong hydraulic closure feature. Now, that feature is great to keep the door closed when the winds howl here. But I cannot tell you how many times that sucker, er, ummmmm, that door has hit me in the ankles as I was juggling groceries, a purse and my keys.
Joel and I also were tired of stepping off the porch in rainy/snowy/sleety weather to have the water surrounding the brick pavers at ground level just off the porch splash up muddy drops onto our pants and shoes. The solution? A deck! Yes, we're simply brilliant, aren't we? A deck would elevate us above the muck....and (she says, breathlessly...) we could make the step at the door level with the porch, eliminating the juggling act of stepping up and pushing against the insistent screen door whilst trying to not drop an armload of goodies.
Yes, we can do this, right? You betcha! So, off to Lowe's we go......loading our allotted amount of different boards into the back of Joel's truck. Once we got home it was time to pull out all the necessary tools to make this baby come to fruition. Thank goodness Joel owns just about every tool known to man....they sure do come in handy.
While Joel was retrieving his tools I got to work digging up the brick pavers. Yea, no more mud splashing on my pants!
Next it was time to build the main box that would support the largest section of decking. It got attached to the porch and supported with 4"x4" posts on cement. We used levels to make sure the deck had some slope to it so the rain would drain off of it.
Of course every carpenter needs a helper....and Saber was more than happy to volunteer. He got right up there in Joel's face.......it was as though he was saying, "Come on buddy, let me try that drill."
Things are looking good, wouldn't you say? We had to take a little break for some lunch and it was nice to see how much progress we had made in just a few hours.
Yes, every job requires a bit of caffeine. Joel likes his afternoon coffee hot and I like mine cold. That board on the saw was just the right place to keep my drink away from the curious dogs. And speaking of curious dogs.....look who settled down in between the boards while we were working.
Once we had the main base built it was time to decide how large to make the smaller step up onto the porch. The goal was to be able to stand level with the porch, open the screen door and walk inside without having to step up at the same time. Hey, don't laugh, but we're doing all these projects with how we will be able to function as we age. And the more we can reduce tripping hazards, the better. Ya' think?
Alright! So we have a 10'x10' base with a 4'x4' step up onto the porch. Everything is secured and nice and sturdy. The joists are in and now it's time for the fun stuff.....decking!
Because Lowe's was out of 10' boards, they gave us 12' boards at the same price....that's why some of these are so long. Pretty soon we'll have them all cut to the correct length. But it's starting to look like a deck now, right? I was getting pretty excited at this point.
Day two saw a lot of progress. We got most of the decking down, holes drilled and screwed at each joist. Oh, our aching knees and backs! But it looked so great we kept going, what's a little pain? Only the sliver of a board on each side of the 4'x4' box needs to be cut. Oh, yea....and the step onto the porch, too.
That part wasn't so much fun. You see, the screen door was flush with the original porch, but when we swung the door out onto the deck it got stuck.....darn it.
No problem. We simply removed the screen door and cut some off the bottom. After a little sanding of some high spots on the step into the porch, the door worked just fine. Whew! Glad that worked out ok.
So day three was finishing the upper small deck, filling in the couple of boards around the door, cutting off the door and sanding the boards and trim. Well, not exactly trim, but the finishing touches that we feel make the deck look a bit more professional. First, we snapped a chalk line on each deck so I had a straight edge to run the saw against. That helped me cut off the excess wood at the end of both decks.
Next, I used the jig saw to round the corners...you know, so we don't bang the daylights out of our shins on the pointy corners of the decks. Last, but not least, Joel ran the router around the edges to make them nice and rounded. And with a quick swipe of the broom, we were done!
Soon we'll extend the railroad ties that butt up to our parking area filled with gravel all the way up to the deck. One more load of gravel should help to fill in up to the deck at the lower end of the pic above. Now I'm on the hunt for some farm-y accessories.....you know, things like galvanized tubs for either side of the small deck. I think that will be the perfect place to put some seasonal flowers and plants to brighten up the space.
Now our guests should have no doubt which door to use as an entry to our home. And I no longer have to get muddy while making my way to the car. The dogs sure seem to like the deck and they have made themselves quite at home on it as you can see Shadow happily chewing her bone there.
It was so nice to take advantage of the rare 65 degree February weather to complete this deck project. But wait! There's more!
Stay tuned,
Debbie
