Search ThisCrazyTrain.com

Monday, May 13, 2013

My Mother's Day present - a new deck

In the townhome I live in, I back onto conservation green space. Basically, I share a backyard with not only nature, but all of my neighbours, too. The only thing private that we have is a 10-foot by 20-foot terrace attached to the back of our home. I never sat out there. The entire deck and fence boards were weathered, rotten and covered in moss. The previous owner never maintained the wood, originally cedar, and it became an eyesore. It had to come down.

My husband and I procrastinated about the work, flipping back and forth between doing it ourselves and paying someone to do it. My husband decided to bite the bullet and do it himself. He's never done decking before so he asked a co-worker with a construction background to help, and over the course of 10 hours on Saturday, they managed to replace the entire terrace.

Best Mother's Day gift, yet! Bring on the piƱa coladas!



And for the troll who always likes to ask, "What does this have to do with riding GO Transit?" Absolutely nothing, but I can see my deck from the GO bus stop.

12 comments:

FRED said...

10 hours? Two men? I take it NO BEER was consumed, period.

It took me an entire weekend to install three wooden steps > true story.

Tell your husband good work.

C.J. Smith said...

They started at around 10 am and were finished around 8 pm. I wasn't there when they finished, but our condo by-law limits construction hours and all work has to cease by 8 pm.

When I came home at 11:30 that night, the whole deck was done and my husband was in bed.

Squiggles said...

Nice looking deck. I am completely jealous. And procrastinating about doing something similar in my backyard.

C.J. Smith said...

Thanks. I need to buy patio furniture and hubby wants one of those monster steel gazebos. I'm on the fence about that one.
Some of our neighbours have done a great job making private retreats on their terraces. I have no idea what to do!

Bicky said...

If it faces south, you'll want an umbrella or a gazebo cover type thing. My deck faces south and it's hot all day long. Finally got an umbrella and it's amazing how cool the deck stays.

Looks like a great deck. Well done.

C.J. Smith said...

After 12:30 pm, we lose the sun and the house shadows the entire deck. It's the mornings where we'd want coverage.

Anonymous said...

Fred,
With no footings, railings or joists to install, in other words, not having to build from scratch, it is completely possible to cut and replace boards in a day. Even with beer!

Bees said...

There is nothing more appealing than your man wearing a toolbelt and doing good work for YOU. Enjoy your new space!

Anonymous said...

Wait ... isn't your house supposed to be on wheels?

C.J. Smith said...

That's what I've been told!

Unknown said...

Take some photos of the underside... I want to inspect for proper footings, joist hangers, and other safety features. LoL

C.J. Smith said...

Tom, I accidentally deleted your comment. The land behind us is protected conservation land. We're not allowed to build on it. We knew this when we bought the townhouse. Although I miss having a private backyard, I enjoy the community, love my house and live in a great location.