Deck Overhaul: Phase One

We've been in this home for two years and D figured it was good time to start on the deck. I was tired of the kids getting splinters and telling our guests to wear shoes. We were both tired of the uneven planks. 

But should we replace boards, sand and re-stain? Or was it time to give it an overhaul? 

When you own a home with a large deck, there comes a time when you have to make some decisions about your maintenance routine. As a couple, we share a very clear vision- find a way to do as little deck maintenance as possible. At our old house we had a Trex deck installed, which we absolutely loved. But as new homeowners we didn't know, and weren't educated by the sales person, when they suggested standard cedar for the railings. Hours and hours were spent sanding and re-staining the railings as they got severely weathered from the hot summer sun. We weren't going to make that mistake again.  

We decided to give the deck a complete overhaul- replacing the planks with two colors of Trex decking and the railings with aluminum and glass. D even had a brilliant idea for extending the too narrow walkway adjacent to the stairway. 

At move in day

This is where we have our patio table. You can see how
close the top of the stairs are to the brick wall.

A view at the top of the stairs.
Hard to see, but the top of the stairs where I'm standing  is only
about 3 feet wide, then it opens up wider. It's very narrow
and makes carrying anything to the eating area very difficult. 

A better view of the top of the stairs. Very tight and the boards are unevenly spaced. 

Old railings attached to the outside of the deck.
Not sure if would be in compliance with current building code.
The new posts are anchored in and more secure.  

Removing the old decking was a long and tedious chore. We removed 1-2 "runs" at a time and replaced it with one long Trex board. D did the math and was able to design the replacement boards so we wouldn't have any seams. (Genius!)

The boys went to their grandparents' house and we worked literally all day.
We completed slightly more than this. It seemed to take forever.
(P.S... yes, the deck slide stays!)

Every. Single. Board. had nails like this which is why the process seemed to take forever.
The nail heads were stripped which made them nearly impossible to pull out.
YouTube to the rescue with a pulling technique to improve the process. 

Checking out the the progress

Goofing around on the nearly finished deck

If you've shopped composite decking you know how expensive it can be. We have a huge deck so to make it more manageable for our budget, we split the deck in half. The area that we have our dining set will be completed this year, while our "lounge" side will be completed next year. It looks a little bit strange for now, but the new decking is so pretty it doesn't even matter!

Old and new

Using glass railings allows us to enjoy the view. (Time for a new patio set!)

Two colors of decking. No screws or board cuts! Consistent visual lines.
The top of the stairs was widened by about 2 feet.

The slide will stay until the boys are too old to use it.
Later the railing will be replaced to match all the others. 

The stairs were completely replaced.
The rise and run are now evenly spaced and consistent throughout. 

Mis-matched deck for now

The new deck is so beautiful and the best part is...no splinters on little feet! Replacing cedar with Trex is a big expense but to us having maintenance-free decking is worth it. We have no plans to move any time soon so we're able to invest in these kinds of projects knowing that we'll have many, many years of use. Summer is so short... we need to be out doing things instead of completing chores! Hopefully we can complete the rest of the deck early in 2017. Check back for photos.