Deck: Part II / Exit Through the Back Door

Despite the thumb mishap, Nick prevailed and was back at his work almost immediately. He was not without pain. It was satisfying to see the skirting and the steps take shape.

Skirting and steps.

Nick carefully planned how he wanted boards to meet at 45 degree angles on the railing tops and along the perimeter of the deck floor. The boards for the steps had to go on in a specific manner to accommodate the railing supports. These things may seem like trivial matters but they all require patience, precision, and math. I am grateful for these strengths in others.

Top of deck - finished.

The final detail of the deck is the addition of a door made out of a section of skirting so that it is hardly noticed as a door. This feature allows us to use the space under the deck for storage. It's a slightly awkward and dirty space, but it's nice for storing buckets and plastic plant pots.

Finished - nice railing!	Finished - neat little door.

I love the new deck! Greatest of thanks to my husband for his hard work, craftsmanship, and physical sacrifice.

Deck: Part I / All Thumbs on Deck

I think a year went by that we had no access to the yard via the back door, having torn off the rotting deck during the back bedroom project. Nick and I sat at the kitchen table and brainstormed different design ideas. I drew little sketches to help us imagine the deck and once an option was selected, Nick worked out all the dimensions and an exhaustive supply list.

Possibilities. Maybe a covering over the door?	Idea: a door leading to storage under deck.

Although you don’t see me in the photos, I promise you I did more than my fair share of digging for the anchors. We dug each hole to a depth of 36” and buried cardboard tubes that we then shoveled concrete into. While the concrete was still wet, we pressed a metal post strap into the center. This hardware securely holds the deck supports above the ground so that won’t sit in water and rot. We probably have more supports than necessary, but it was important to us to have a safe, sturdy structure that would last.

Boys helping dig while I take photo.	Anchors installed. Landscape cloth and gravel laid.

The design called for skirting, which we made using lattice carefully cut to size and attached to framing. Nick pried a lattice section apart in the basement while I worked on the deck outside.

Creating the structure.	Joists.

“Hallie. I need your help,” he called. There was something in his tone that gave me a chill. I dropped what I was doing and bounded down the basement stairs two at a time. His right hand was wrapped tightly around his left thumb and he explained that he had cut himself badly. I directed him into the bathroom where we huddled around the sink as he loosened his grip. There was too much blood to determine anything except that stitches would be necessary. I gave him a rag and ran upstairs. “Don’t panic!” he shouted at me. “I’m not panicking,” I defended. “I’m HURRYING!” From the car I called the nearby urgent care and described his wound. Since we weren’t sure if he hit the tendon, they instructed us to go to the ER. It was a several hour visit, but there was no tendon damage. The doctor stitched up Nick’s thumb and we were left along without any further instruction. After 30 minutes of waiting, we wandered into the hall and discovered that a shift change had occurred and we were free to go. We were unimpressed.

Landscaping: Rain Gardens

Rain gardens are encouraged in Seattle to help reduce the amount of water going into the sewer/storm drain system, which can become overloaded in heavy rains. A significant rebate was being offered to homeowners to have rain gardens installed by approved contractors. We wandered our neighborhood to get design ideas. Sometimes rain gardens just look like weed trenches and sometimes they meld nicely into the landscape and are hardly noticeable. Rebate eligibility is determined by adherence to a set of rules and we determined that 1) we didn't want to follow the rules and 2) it would actually be cheaper for us to do it ourselves even though we'd be passing up the rebate.

Nick calculated the necessary grade, which meant a lot of dirt movement. Our neighbor helped cut down an overgrown cherry tree that was planted on his property line and we gave a mature camellia bush/tree away to someone who showed up with an excavator to dig it up and move it. In the process, the excavator tipped and the man dislocated his shoulder. I took him to the emergency room, which was especially interesting because he didn't speak English. We were happy to not get sued.

We discovered the most effective way to tear out the lawn was by using a mattock ax and working away at it by hand. Oh, the blisters!

Grading.

Next, we dug a trench around the perimeter of the house (in the pouring rain no less) and laid irrigation pipe and catch basins under each down spout. Again, Nick figured out the precise slope so that everything would drain properly into the rain garden. We tested the drainage of our soil which provided the needed value to plug into an equation to determine the dimension of the hole needed for the rain garden. As we graded the back yard, we picked out river rock that we would then use in the rain garden. No rock was purchased in the making of this rain garden!

New rain garden.

The pieris was transplanted as a focal point of the garden, but speaking now from the future, I'm not sure the transplant will succeed. Our rain garden looked a little silly when all of the plants were small, but we've been pleased with how it's come together now that the plants have grown.

Can you see where the drain pipe is hidden?	March 2018.