GratiTuesday: Demolition Man; er, Make that 'Reconstruction Man'

For several years now I've been worrying about our deck.  In slight need of attention when we bought the house, it just needed to be treated, but the time just never seemed right.  With infants and 118-degree-days, with damp fall days and clumps of wet leaves lying on the wood, with piles of springtime pollen collecting in all the cracks, when could I treat it?  When could it be dry and not have something falling on it?

With dishes and laundry and storytime calling my name, I ignored the call of the wood.  

Until a few months ago when I noticed that those furthest back, most leaf-collecting boards weren't just rough anymore - they were starting to splinter apart.

With the back of the deck nearly a full story off the ground, this is a big problem - and not the kind of project we could tackle just anytime.  The deck was built with benches included in the sides and the whole thing built on top of the deck boards - to remove a single board, we have to remove all surrounding sides, leaving the edges open for someone to fall off.

So when we began making plans for my husband's week of vacation, I knew what I wanted should ask for.

With a minimal amount of grumbling and an extensive amount of researching and measuring, my husband began to demo the deck.

The deck is actually built on top of a sloped driveway, under which the previous owner built a sketchy enclosure for his dogs - hence the plastic roof you see under the beams.


So this is what it looked like earlier today - but already, after two days of hammering and carrying away lumber, with bleeding knuckles and sore wrists and even with a reinjured back, my husband has begun to replace the floor.  A few boards have already been screwed into place, and his plan for the rest of the week is to replace all the rest.

I know that this isn't how he wanted to spend his vacation.  His work hours chop up his days and make it difficult to complete household projects or to spend the time he wants with us, and so he really looks forward to his vacation time as big family time - but this week it's both.  We have a few evening activities planned, but his days are dedicated to rebuilding the deck - and then sealing it to prevent this from happening again.

I'm proud of my husband for spending his time out of the office with the power tools he's not fond of - and so grateful that soon our deck will be in fantastic shape.

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