Katie and I have been wanting a deck for a while now. We had a concrete aggregate patio, which was marginally okay, but it was uncomfortable to walk on, acted like Velcro for all of the hemlock needles in the back yard, was too small to accommodate the grill and picnic table, and in general was not as cool as Karl and Tristine’s so something had to be done.

Fortunately, my Dad had decided to visit when Laura went off to frolic in San Francisco with her Aussie friend Tim in mid September. And if you can predict one thing about Loren visiting, it’s that I’ll have lined up some home improvement projects to help him feel useful. Aren’t I the dutiful son?

We decided on a mid-sized deck – big enough to set a decent sized table on, and have a grilling area off to one side. We also stole shamelessly from Karl and Tristine’s deck design, and added a space off one side to put a storage bench for the outdoor toys, once we get around to building or buying it.

It took rather longer than it ought to have, mostly because the boys went on strike and refused to do all of the ground work. I stayed home from work for most of the week on vacation, and Loren and I worked on the Deck while Zaidee supervised the boys and kept them alive. We had to stop regularly so as not to disturb the feeds or naps, but in the end it all came together nicely.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the process, especially of the boys helpful inspection tours.

Deck