The Deck

So this summer I finally took the time to replace the railings on my deck. These pictures clearly show why they needed to be replaced. On the first photo the cross beam came right off of the nails. Next to it, notice the huge crack and the weathering on the wood. They don't show the huge gaps between the rails. My friends had been very kind about bringing their children over even though my deck was unsafe. I wanted to at least have a safe deck for them for their going away picnic. I didn't quite finish in time, but at least more than half of it was done and we could block the other portion with chairs. Of course, the kids kept wanting to go to the "chair" part instead of the safer part.

So the demolition was kind of fun as it usually is. Then the real work began. I enjoyed using my compound miter saw and it was great to see immediate progress. On my job I don't get to see the progress with any immediacy. Anyway, back to the deck. As usual, I was working by myself. This wasn't a problem until I got to the section that had very long crossbeams. I couldn't hold the board and nail it in at the same time so I devised what I affectionately called, "Staci's Helper". Essentially it was a red tie down that I used to tie one side at about the right height while I nailed the other side in place. I was quite proud of my ingenuity.

I had to get even trickier to put the top crossbeam up since there wasn't anything above it. Check it out.

If you are still reading about my deck accomplishment, thank you. The wood was treated and was still quite wet. In fact, every time I sunk a nail it was like the wood was seeping. My legs looked similar because they were dripping with sweat, but I felt good!