You know you’re a parent when spring “break” is busier and more stressful than being at work. Having a five-year-old boinging around the house all day CAN be fun, but also makes it hard to squeeze in even a short blog piece, let alone something longer and thoughtfully composed.
So this li’l update will have to suffice. In addition to being busy with my son, I’ve also been pre-occupied with watching my 30-year-old deck get ripped out. Whoo-hoo! Here’s a couple of before pictures:
I’m guessing this huge wooden monstrosity was built sometime in the mid 1980’s, and over the years has become quite the warped, cracked, splintery menace. Granted, we have not been the best caretakers of the deck. But just look at all that old wood. I think I would rather have a root canal than have to sand and seal all that wood. I would rather swallow a dose of castor oil or watch Night at the Roxbury than have to tackle the maintenance on that thing.
So anyway, it’s getting ripped out and replaced with brick pavers. Now that our son is older, the railing between the pool and the deck will not be replaced at all, which should give the whole area a more open feel.
It already looks better just with the railing ripped out.
I’m very psyched. And I surely will post the after pictures when it’s finished, hopefully to a chorus of “ooooohs” and “aaaahhhhs.”
Okay, now I’m going back to my regular daily agenda of making strawberry Jell-o, playing hide and seek, and vacuuming up lots of crumbs.
Black Walnut Dispatch 
I’ll do some oooooh-ing in advance! Sounds like a wonderful plan.
Thanks, Patricia. And I will be expecting “ahhhh”ing when the project is finished.
Hey, it is our spring break here in GA and my husband is off work for the week. We ripped off our 30 year old deck and today our footing concrete is curing. I hauled and mixed many 80lb. bags of Quickcrete! We are ready to start building in 24 hours if the rain holds off. Our deck is MUCH smaller than yours so we are attempting it ourselves and we have different friends taking care of or almost 3 year old every day. What a project! Good luck with yours and don’t forget to post after photos!
Oh my goodness, kudos to you, Heather for taking the project on yourselves. If my husband were a more enthusiastic handyman and heavy-lifter, we might consider it, but alas, he is not. Building your own must give you a great feeling of satisfaction. I will definitely post my “after” pics…hopefully this weekend!
I can’t wait to see it on all it’s new splendor. Rock solid splendor!!
This post is absolutely charming! We have such a sense of you and Charlie on spring break. We have a similar deck that peeled off the house a few years ago. A friend and I put it back, and it was where I was standing when the ‘quake struck last August. It swayed but did not collapse. Long term, we want to put a Florida room where it is, but for now, I’ll power wash it before Easter guests come over for dinner on Sunday. Enjoy the rest of the week off!
Oooh, a Florida room sounds nice. Right now we have an “Idaho” Room, aka, old screened-in porch. My dream is to one day turn that into a little conservatory.