"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men" apply to this particular job. Originally we were asked to basically just remove the wood top boards from this existing deck, make it a bit larger overall, and replace the top boards with composite decking. Nothing fancy, but that's when all the fun started.
Once we removed the wood decking boards we found that two of the deck supports had sunk and were no longer supporting the deck.
Here you can see the second support that sank. We traced the problem to a leaking gutter over the deck The rainwater undermined the foundation. Pete, the homeowner had the gutters replaced as soon as the deck was finished.
After making further recommendations to Pete & Donna, the homeowners it was decided to use what we could of the original deck, increase the size of the deck , use new pressure treated 4" X 4" supports that were drilled & set deep in the ground and set on concrete foundations for extra support, grade & add plastic under the deck to route rainwater away from the house, relocate the stairs, make the stairs wider, add composite deck railings, add vinyl lattice to keep animals from getting under the deck, and add solar lights. whew!
You can see how much larger the deck will be in this picture. The new stair stringers were covered with composite deck boards.
Here the composite decking starts to go down
The posts are trimmed & composite railings start to go up and take shape
The railings really start to look nice. vinyl lattice is fitted to the skirt of the deck. The solar deck lights are installed.
We used landscape fabric to keep the weeds in check
Pete asked if we could do some landscaping to make the backyard look more finished so the boys cut in beds, set landscaping fabric, and started hauling black mulch.
The beds were continued around the entire perimeter of the rear yard.
At this point we built a terraced stone retaining wall. If it looks a little muddy in this picture you're right. It rained for days while we were completing this project. Good old Mother Nature was having some fun with us. Pete plans to add plantings the following spring in all the new beds.
Pete decided to have us build a stone patio where this barn sits so this shed was dismantled and given to the Humane Society.
The stone patio was built next to the terraced wall and the flower beds were extended. The area closest on the patio is meant for a chimenea.
This turned out to be a fun project and really made Pete's yard inviting. I would like to thank Pete & Donna for the job, their patience through a lot of rainy weather, and for the fine steaks they grilled for the boys and I on their new deck once finished. We are now all good friends.
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