Renovations and Transformations Volume 3: The Deck

So when I dreamed of owning a home, I never thought it would be a fixer-upper. As you grow up, you see a lot of different homes between family members and friends, but you don't ever see the work that goes into making that home. Then I started watching shows like Property Brothers and Flip or Flop and realized that if I wanted my dream home, I was going to have to make it that way. There was no way we were going to afford a house that was already done, so we were going to have to work and earn the house that we wanted it to be. This was the back of our house when we first bought it. There was a covered, screened in porch on the back. The furniture in the next picture was not included when we bought the house. And there was a sliding glass door entering into the porch area, and a screen door leading out into the back yard.

 It was a disaster. The screened in porch was causing issues with the gutters, so we had to tear it off. That was stressful. As we started to dismantle the different parts, the wood that was used to hold it up was rotting away. It could have fallen on us at any time. This was our second experience with a dumpster at our house. In my opinion, two dumpsters too many! We got rid of the screened in porch, and we were left with a cement patio that had cracks and holes in it. After we tore that off, my husband's brilliant idea was that we add a deck that met both levels of our house: one level would meet the sliding glass door so we could walk right out onto to the deck with no step, and the second would meet the level of the door leading out of the back of the garage. Now, it was just down to making that dream a reality.

But before we could add a deck, we came across another issue. Our sliding glass door was leaking. After we tore off the porch, and got the back of the house fixed from it's removal, the first heavy rain revealed that the door was not sealed correctly. We did some research and price checking at the various home improvement stores, and decided on a modified French door from Lowe's. The cost of the door was $418 and the install cost was around $800 due to the issues from the old door. It was a small price to pay to preserve our beautiful new kitchen and keep the water from causing any other issues.

My husband works for a printing company that specializes in sporting goods, and one of the guys he works with used to work for a contractor that built decks. This person offered to complete our deck on his own while only charging us $18 per hour for his services. Now, if you've ever had a contractor work on your house, you know that labor is the most expensive part, and often it is more than the amount that he was charging. He came to our house, measured, helped us order all of the lumber, concrete, screws, and anything else that we needed, and as soon as it all showed up at our house, he was there to work. He spent a total of 5 days and about 45 hours working. My husband helped dig 5 of the post holes, but other than that, his friend was on it. He was precise, worked hard and quickly, and the deck came out beautiful. Below is a timeline of how it was developed.

The first thing he came and did was framed in the upper portion of the deck.He had to install six posts by breaking pieces of the concrete patio off and digging holes. I can't even imagine what it was like smashing a sledge hammer against concrete until it broke, but he got it done. Once he had the upper part all framed in, he started cutting and screwing down the deck boards to complete the upper portion of the deck. This was a good thing because we have a little pup and she did not like trying to go outside when there were joists in her way.

Once he'd finished laying all the deck boards on the upper portion, he began framing up and putting the joists int he lower portion. Slightly easier this time because there was not as much concrete to bust through. 

 

 Once the lower portion of the deck was finished, he began installing a three foot stair around the corner of the deck that leads into the back yard. This idea was with Callie (our pup) and someday our future children in mind. We can't just have them falling off a 16 inch drop into the backyard. He assembled the framing with the remaining wood from the joists and then used deck boards, which he took the time to cut at 45 degrees, to create the top of the step.



Here is a photo of just the step all done. It looks incredible.

Don't mind the mess, but this is a photo of my husband installing the motion sensor back porch light that we got at Lowe's so that our dog would have some light in the back yard. This is also a photo of our completed deck minus the railing. We plan on adding a railing as we can afford the pieces. Building a deck is no easy task and it's definitely not a cheap one.

Lastly, here are some photos of the porch light installed as well as the deck lights that my husband put in for the step down onto the lower deck.

 This is a project that I was extremely wary of at the start. We were asking a friend to complete a large task, and while we were paying him, it is always hard to ask that of someone. I was also stressed out about the cost. Every time it feels like we're getting somewhere with this house, we end up spending more money than we thought we were going to, and I am the budgeter in the house, so it stresses me out. But, at the end of the day, I am happy that we decided to go for it. Not only does it add value to our home, but now I can spend some long summer days sitting on the deck while my puppy plays in the yard. I can only imagine what it will feel like when we have a couple little ones back there.

Until next time...