Deck Rebuilds

We have three large decks in our backyard.  The first is a covered deck off the back side of the house and is our outdoor living- and dining-space.  The second is down one level from the first and is where we do our outdoor entertaining.  The third is under our willow tree and where we like to lounge while the kids play in the backyard.  All three were in pretty rough shape and needed a little (alot) of tlc.  The two uncovered decks were both rotting out and the one where we entertain was really not efficiently designed.  We were planning to just replace the decking on all the decks with a composite decking but the two uncovered ones were so rotted out that we had to rebuild their framing as well.  These were big projects so I enlisted the help of my AWESOME handyman, Jeremy Snyder, who is a neighbor and friend and just happens to be as anal about detail as I am, so I trust him.  I designed the decks and then we built them together.  We have been waiting for over three months for the fascia to arrive.  It still has not, so the decks aren't actually done, but I thought I would take some pictures to post anyway, as we are now using the decks.

 

Covered deck off the house:  the  deck boards on this deck were still in decent shape so we just re-stained them to match the new composite on the lower decks and replaced the railing with new black aluminum railing that we installed on the lower decks.

COVERED DECK BEFORE

COVERED DECK AFTER

 

 

 

The lower deck off the Upper Covered deck was originally split level, with neither lever quite big enough to be functional.  The stairs were in such bad shape that we were terrified someone would fall through them.  Both staircases ended in the corner, making the corner unusable space, and there was no natural way to walk onto the deck from the concrete slope on the side of the house.  We rebuilt the entire deck, made it a single level for more usable space, added winders to both stair cases so we could utilize the corner space, added built-in benches and planters in the corner (we still need to plant a tree in the large planter), and added another stair run along the slope of the concrete to make access to the deck and garage from the side of the house more convenient and comfortable.  We also added plumbing (access from a nearby hose bib, and a french drain running out under a nearby planter) and electrical under the deck so that we can add an outdoor kitchen next year where we have these temporary folding tables set up currently.

LOWER DECK BEFORE

 

LOWER DECK AFTER

We got the deck planters planted!  Getting going on the outdoor deck kitchen now.

 

The deck below the willow was so rotten that the main support beam was completely split and the whole deck was sagging.  As with the other deck, we are still awaiting the fascia to arrive so we can finish it, but we are enjoying having a safe place to enjoy on nice summer days.

DECK BELOW WILLOW BEFORE

DECK BELOW WILLOW AFTER

 

 

We have some leftover decking so we are using it for various odd projects around the yard.  We added a doorstep to the new sports shed (still waiting on fascia to arrive to finish off the edges), a potting bench to the garden shed (still waiting on fascia to finish the edges and add some details), and a boardwalk between the two main areas of the yard, where there used to just be some awkward paving stones.

All in all, it's been a VERY busy summer, working on the yard, but hopefully this will all last for decades to come.  Can't wait to get the new outdoor kitchen in and really start living outdoors!

We added a secret hidden deck next to the potting bench.  It wraps around both the ironwood tree and the juniper tree that are in that little cove area. These aren't the best pictures, as we didn't take time to clean up or get angles that really capture the atmosphere of this "secret hide-out," but here are a few for your viewing pleasure anyway:

Here are some of the design drawings I did:

Sports Shed

So my shop (garage) and my husband's garden shed had been taken over by our large family's (family of 9) sport and camping equipment.  Being that wood working is my hobby and gardening is my husband's hobby, this had become a major problem.  So, we built another shed dedicated to Sporting Gear.  And when I say "we built" I mean we ordered a custom shed that was built wrong and then rebuilt and still isn't right.  But, we are out of patience and decided to just finish it off anyway. 

First off, if you decide to buy a paint sprayer, make sure you get a good one.  I bought a cheap one and it was extremely labor-intensive to use and literally burned my hands because it ran so hot.  Instead of saving me time and effort, it was MUCH more difficult and time-consuming to use than a brush and roller.  It took me three 10-hour days to paint a single coat of primer and a single coat of paint!  Ridiculous!  Second, let me just warn you, if you ever get an inkling to stencil your floor with three colors of paint to make it beautiful, don't!, especially if it is just a shed floor!  For this 10'x10' shed, I had to stencil 81 squares and it took me an hour to do only four (ya, I'm not a very fast stenciler).  The floor looks gorgeous, but it wasn't worth the time investment.  Consider yourself forewarned.  :)

I took a wooden step ladder and used a grinder to cut out the rivets that were holding it together so I could use the ladder side as a rolling ladder.  I installed black iron pipe along the fronts of the loft and the opposing shelf and then installed upside down wall hooks on the back of the ladder at the heights of both the pipe rails to hook it over so that it can be used for the loft or for the shelf above the door.  Then, I installed fixed casters at the bottom of the ladder so it can be rolled side-to-side easily.  It is light weight so easy to move from one shelf to the next and rolls out of the way to access things.

 The black pipe worked so well as ladder rail that I decided to use it for storage of our sports equipment as well.  It works excellent as a ball rack, a racket rack, a baseball bat rack, a hockey stick rack, and even as a roller blade/skate rack!

 

The ladder rails also work well as clothing bars for hanging our life jackets and wetsuits!

The BB Guns hang above the door which is fun.

The bikes fit below the shelf that sits below the loft, with helmets hanging on hooks above.  The shelf holds camping gear, while the loft holds the kayaks, snowboards, skis, sleds, kites, etc.  I haven't had a chance yet, but I will hang hooks on the wall behind the bikes so they can store upright on their back wheels as well, which will increase our floor space as well.

I still need to install some more shelves in the wall space above the cleat/shoe rack to make the bins of mits, balls, frisbes, safety gear, jump ropes, etc. more easily accessible.

All-in-all, the shed turned out really cute and also stores our gear very efficiently and effectively.  It is very functional as well as aesthetically pleasing, so I'm happy.  AND!  I have my garage back for my workshop and my husband has his garden shed again!  Now, I just need to help him make his shed pretty and functional again too.  :)

Update:  we added a nice little doorstep to the shed with our leftover decking material.  Turned out pretty!

Pergola for family gatherings!

So, with 7 kids, we are finding it more and more difficult to fit everyone together comfortably for outdoor meals (one of our favorite family activities), especially when we have guests joining us.  We used to have a little 6 person glass outdoor table sitting down on some concrete in the back yard with an umbrella since it is a sunny location.  It just wasn't functional for us anymore.  Then, we came across some outdoor tables at Home Depot on sale that would be the perfect size for all of us if we bought two of them and benches and chairs to match, so we snatched them up.  But we wanted to be able to use them end to end as one really long table when we have guests or side by side as one big square table when it is just our family, which presented challenges when using umbrellas for shade.  So, we thought, "this would be a really nice spot for a pergola!"  But, the prefab pergolas just weren't very exciting.  So, I found a Pergola manufacturer that was willing to do custom orders and I designed this pergola for the concrete slab to fit over our new table set-up.  My husband ordered some wisteria to grow on it that should be here in a few days.  Meanwhile, the parts were sent out for the pergola I designed but some were missing.  I have assembled it so far and am still waiting on the missing parts.  I've had to do some fandangling and jerryrigging and had to drill some new holes to correct some problems with the prefabrication (no project goes perfectly the first time around), but it is coming together nicely and is so beautiful.  I am waiting for the missing parts to be delivered before I anchor it to the concrete so the posts are not perfectly plumb in these pictures, but they will be once I get everything anchored.  It is redwood with a dark mission stain and just gorgeous!  I CANNOT wait until the missing pieces show up so I can finish this project and start using the space!  So exciting!

UPDATE 2025

The wisteria has finally climbed to the top of the pergola and will begin to provide shade. I'm super excited: