This summer I started scraping the deck in order to refinish it, and discovered more rot than we had imagined. Between the sap from the pine trees, shade that didn’t allow rain water to dry efficiently, and termites that made their way from the trees onto the deck, there was a lot of damage. (You can see the damage from the trees on the roof of the house above.)
We considered replacing the whole deck but our builder Ron, who finished our basement last winter, checked it out and discovered that hidden under layers and layers of chipping, filthy paint is actually mahogany decking and that a lot of the deck structure was salvageable (woo hoo!!)
We thought we’d be able to fix the deck ourselves and then re-stain it, but then Mark got a new job and I wimped out on tackling this project solo. With a snowy winter approaching, we want to prevent the deck from rotting any further (and truthfully, cannot stand to look at it anymore!). Yesterday Ron ripped out the rotted wood in no time flat and just like that, our eyesore of a deck is about to get all spiffied up.
This hideous crawlspace under the deck is going to get prettied up with a deck skirt (did you know that’s what a covering on the lower portion of a deck is called? Me neither.)
The deck skirt will be made out of this heavy square latticeboard that is framed out, and hung on hinges so we can store items like the wheelbarrel under the deck.
Ever since I showed Mark this beautiful outdoor space that Pam shared, we have been chomping at the bit to get our deck repaired and beautified! Have you seen it??? It’s dreamy.
Tomorrow I’ll show you the plan we’ve come up with {that I am absolutely dying over} to add some desperately needed curb appeal to the front of our house! We have been envisioning some of these changes since the very first time we looked at this house and it’s so exciting to finally bring the vision to life.
Oh wait – before you go – I have a living room sneak peek for you!
Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles
Thursday 4th of October 2012
Well if you lived in OK, you would never have a roof long enough to be damaged by trees! :) We just had a new roof put on, and 90% of my neighborhood is on their second roof in 2 years...Hailstorms!
I.love.that.chair!!!!!
Kathy C.
Wednesday 3rd of October 2012
really? A deck skirt?! I had no idea! But love that you plan to use the space as storage. :)
René
Wednesday 3rd of October 2012
What a gorgeous setting Lisa! Your dream deck will be wonderful there. Can't wait to see it!
Lisa - A Room with A View
Wednesday 3rd of October 2012
You have beautiful property to do so much with. I like the idea of a deck skirt - never heard it called that. It is amazing how much work a house requires on the outside, too - something some of us neglect/do not have time to tackle because we are so busy with the inside.
Jenny
Wednesday 3rd of October 2012
I can't wait to see how it comes together! You have such a gorgeous outdoor space, a deck update is in order! :-) It's so funny that you're posting about this now, because we have someone coming out today to powerwash and spiffy up our deck as well!