Monday, September 27, 2010

Staining the deck....and other things

Finally we got to stain the deck this weekend.

The final product with the stain and additional blocking on the roof looks great.

Just a few pics.  After you work so hard on something it's hard not to post a thousand pictures of your work.
Then while waiting for the stain to dry Steve and I took a stab at rebuilding the firepit in the front yard.

The previous firepit was very large (almost too big) so we used a smaller template.  (haha I knew the spare tire would come in handy one day)

The end result was good but I think we might try to build it up one more time.  As with all things in "remodel-land" they are subject to be reworked over and over again.  Well, there is always next weekend... right?

Sunday, September 19, 2010

That was a big job!

Building the front porch was a big job.  I am sure that no one was happier to be done than my wonderful husband.  He not only worked on it last weekend but also every night thru the entire week and again this weekend to finish.  I do love that man!





More friggen pier blocks!


Deciding where to put the supports was no easy task.  I think the deck will last and it certainly isn't in danger of colapse.



Towards the end of last weekend we were about at this point.  Like I said, "a big job"... who knew?


A spur of the moment stroke of genius.  Install screen to keep the animals away!


It's a beautiful thing when you finally get to make a cut that gets rid of all the loose ends.
It really felt like we were getting somewhere at this point.
 
We routered the edges to knock off the sharp edges then sanded a little.
 
before and after
The crop circles in the front yard are there for placement of stepping stones, the firepit and the patio.  Still a work in progress.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Building the front porch... what can you do in a weekend?

It all began on friday night....
one post sprang up out of the ground,
like "jack and the bean stalk"... just kidding.
We decided to set the posts on friday night as we needed to make them level.

Using the lazer level we were able to determine the lowest pier and measured the rest of the posts from that, cutting off about 1/2 to 1 inch of each one.  It worked like a charm.
We woke up the next morning to a forest of posts.
Saturday was spent putting the 4x6 beams in place across the top of the posts.
Lots and lots of ladder time. (thanks for the loaner Riera)
Angled cuts and installing 6" SDS screws with an impact driver.
A 13 foot beam added above the front door to allow for roof pitch.
At the end of the day the canyon brown stain made it all work.
It always amazes me to look back and see what we made in just one weekend.  I think it looks great.  A deck and some roofing will be worth it when the rain comes.