Ginormous Deck Phase 1

It all started with six little words, "Hey honey, let's build a deck". Sure no problem. I have never actually done anything like this but it can't be that hard can it? All I have to do is throw down some joists and run some 5/4 x 6 across the top of them. Easy.

"So where do you want me to build a deck?" I ask. "Just over the patio where the grill is... and connect it to the other patio where we have the gazebo." Okay. I don't think Melissa really understood the magnitude of the project she was suggesting, not that I didn't think it was a great idea. Her schedule for completing this task was over the weekend, maybe extending into the next week briefly.

I knew this was an unrealistic expectation but I could not convince her on my own. Slowly but surely after talking with several people who have actually tackled similar projects did we become aware of the amount of work involved. First came the realization of the scale of the deck that was suggested. With the assitance of the handy Lowe's deck building utility a design was born that was just shy of 800 sq ft. That's a lot of wood.

It was good to hear from others to readjust Melssia's expectations as to the time frame involved in undertaking such a task. At one of Mel's co-worker's gathering I was discussing the project with someone else that had done a similar project recently. His deck was more complicated technically since he had all kinds of crazy octagon shaped sections and our design was just squares and rectangles, it still took him over 5 weeks to complete the project. Oh my.


This was good to have other people indicate a much more significant timeframe for the completion of the project. Frequently if I am the only one to say that it will take a lot longer than what she expects my words fall on deaf ears. It's always good to have others back me up on the amount of time required to do the job properly.

Mel's dad just laughs when I tell him when she expects this projects to be complete or the amount of money she thinks they will cost.
To be fair, Melissa is always trying to find the cheapest solution to a project and always volunteers her assistance even when its something she has no experience with. It's just that sometimes she is blissfully unaware of just how much she is asking when suggesting a project that we undertake.

Armed with a preliminary blueprint from Lowes and the brainstorming of my father we began to build the monstrosity of the deck. Preparation work was not too terribly difficult. There was a bed of plants of some sort behind the sun room that had to be removed and some roots dug up, but that was about it. I also staked out the area where the deck would go as a guide. It was now time to start building :-)