Deck Re-Do

This was the spring to tackle the deck project.  The old deck was showing a lot of wear and the steps where too steep and narrow, so it was time for a re-do.  Here is the "before" picture.

 Step 1 - remove the old deck.  It came off fairly easily.  We ended up using a Bagster bag from Waste Management to get rid of the old deck.  We filled the bag, their website was easy to use to schedule a pick up and they hauled it off!  Step 2, pour new footings, we didn't change the foot print of the deck much but I wanted bigger posts, I used 6x6's instead of 4x4's and added one additional post for more strength.

 Step 3 - frame up the new deck and add deck boards

 This step was easier said than done, that 29 foot 2x12 was heavy!

 Step 4 - add deck boards.  We did our deck boards at a 45 degree angle, this took all the wiggle out of the deck.  This also eliminated any seams in the boards.  We needed to run our joists at 12 inches instead of the normal 16 inches...

 ...but I am really pleased at how this turned out.

 Step 5 (or so) - add railings!

 Step 6 - the landing, the stairs and the slide!

 More railings to finish it off and we've got ourselves a deck!

 We moved these big flagstones to line up with the new steps and make a path down to the patio and fire pit.

 We added more pavers around the fire pit and then filled the gaps with river pebble...

And the finished deck!

 And the finished patio/fire pit!

Now we are ready for summer!