Since we bought our first house years ago, Ward has wanted a place to sit outside and listen to the rain. Let me rephrase that, Ward has wanted a place to sit outside and listen to the rain without getting wet. So when we determined that our 30 year old deck needed to be replaced for safety reasons, we decided it was finally time to get our porch with a roof.
While we've had a lot of remodeling work done over the years, this is the first time that we are having new construction and I am going to chronicle the process here.
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| This is the deck that came with our house. We might have just replaced some of the upper parts, but the posts underneath were rotting at the ground. |
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| The first step was to work with an architect to draw up plans. This was a multistage process with a dialog about what we wanted (a roof and easy maintenance) and what was possible within a reasonable budget. After we agreed on the plans, we sent them to 5 contractors asking for bids. We picked one and soon thereafter we had a signed contract. |
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| Next step was clearing the deck to get ready for the workers. Ward took out a section of railing so we could hand things over the side. One of the problems with the old deck was the very narrow ramp onto the deck. That is going away in the new design. |
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| After they finally got the permit, next was the mobilization. They brought in the lumber, |
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| A dumpster, |
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| and a Port a John. Then I knew this was definitely bigger than any project we had been involved in before. We had a Port-a John on site! (BTW, they will empty it weekly or when we call.) |
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| After mobilization, they started with demo day, of course. Now we're committed. |
Next up will be the mason who will dig and install the masonry piers. Until next time...
