Porch

I bet you've been  wondering what I've been up to for the last several months since nothing has appeared on the blog lately.  OK, so you haven't been.  But I need to document all this activity that I've just completed.  I've rebuilt my front poach and deck.  

I'm blaming my niece Kate for occupying so much of my summer.  It really is all her fault.  She called and asked how to check her mom's deck for rot.  I explained that your take something sharp like a pick or narrow knife and push it into the wood where you think there might be a problem.  If there is little resistance then the wood had rotted and needs to be replace.  

You know how sometimes when you explain something over the phone you sort of do it yourself.  That's what I was doing since I was sitting on the deck when she called.  I found several bad spots in my own deck.  Not a big deal really, I'd just replace those few pieces and be done.  

A few days later I started to tear into the deck.  This is some of what I found.  This piece happens to be the corner post!  All the joists had rotted.  It was way more than I expect.  Basically the deck had to be torn down and completely rebuilt.  I'm damn lucky the whole thing didn't just fall down.  

So I really should be thanking Kate.  

Turns out the folks who built the deck didn't use treated wood.  The deck, being out in the weather, didn't have a chance.  While it took much longer than I ever dreamed it would, over 6 weeks, I'm grateful to have it done.

This is how it looks today.  I used treated wood for the joists and trex (basically plastic wood)  for the decking where it's exposed to the weather.  It should last for decades now.

I also stripped, sanded, stained and sealed the wood decking on the porch.  Those joists were fine since they were under the roof.  What took the longest was rebuilding the railings.  There's over 120 pickets!  But, I'm very happy with the results and glad I did it.

Thank You Kate!

Next, I've hired a company to sandblast all the wood siding.  They should start in a few weeks.  Then I get to stain everything.  Between now and then I'm staining, finishing and installing a new front door.  Hopefully the house will be really spiffy in time for Teresa and John's wedding.