Biggest Project of All

Have you ever gotten a quote for having someone come in and do any sort of contracted service?  Yeah?  Um, have you ever seen the amount listed on the line for labor?  Wow!  The bigger the project, the more zero's there are on that line of the quote.  I know it is well deserved money for their time and effort.  And, IF we couldn't do the job ourselves, we would gladly have that work done by someone else.   So, when we started looking into getting a deck on the back of our house, 'sticker shock' is a mild way of stating our reaction to the quote given to us.  

Fortunately (or unfortunately - depending on how you look at it), my husband and I are 'cut from the same cloth'.  We really needed wanted a deck.  Perfect time for the 'I Can Do That' Monster (?) to enter the picture.  (Even my practical husband suffers from this illness on occasion.  :)  So, plans were drawn up, permits requested and granted and products purchased.  My dad was even nice enough to help in the project since I was once again pregnant and just overall a huge wimp.

It wouldn't be a true project if there were no unforeseen problems, right?  Like - 1.  The ground breaking started during the hottest week of the year in MAY! (Temps above 100 F - Who'da thunk?!)  2.  We sit on one huge pile of rock - limestone, I believe.  And, 3.  Kevin had several business trips that were made between start of the project and winter setting in.

We Kevin resumed the project this spring and has finally finished his biggest project to date.  I'm extremely proud of him and his hard work.  We've even had a final inspection and passed with no problem!

I can't believe how nice it is to have the extra space and the access to the back yard from the kitchen.  The kids are loving it too.  Here are a few pictures of the deck project, start to finish, for you to enjoy.

The back of the house (pre-purchase, I believe).

Jackhammering the rock out to get to code depth.

Isn't it lovely?  Not much dirt in with all that rock.

Taking a break.  Notice all the Gatorade?

Filling the forms.

Various stages of the support structure going up.

Taking another break.  Kevin had a sinus infection during this week, too.  He could barely breathe.  Poor Baby. :(

There is about a 12 foot drop at outside edge of the deck and those pressure treated boards were wet and heavy.

The last day Dad was here to help.  So much done, but still a lot of work to do!

Look!  Decking!

View from one of the upstairs windows.

Railing!
There is a big jump now to the work that was done at the very end.  Even our oldest got in on the action.

The big finish!!  An extra 325 sq ft of usable outdoor living space!

We keep waivering between staining this fall or waiting until spring.  It will probably be done this fall leaving the stairs to weather and then be stained in the spring.

Now,  to get Kevin started on his next project! Mwa hahaha! {laughing evilly and rubbing hands together}