Wow, it has been a year since I have updated this blog! So much has been going on around our home, there is no way I can post it all. So..... here is our current project: updating our horribly outdated deck. When we first moved to our dream place the brick ranch style home located on 3 acres of wooded land was perfect. But the combination of a rustic landscape, with a bavarian style painted deck just did not mix. With the sale of a few items (including Waylon's 1978 Cabellero!) we are finally able to replace the deck. We use this very large space nearly every day - to sit and watch the deer move through, to relax, etc.

We hired a local company of very young, very creative men who attend our church. When we told them we want a rustic cedar deck and just lined out the basics, telling them to 'be creative' they were thrilled! So the deck is coming along, it will be very rustic, with a stone base. Eventually we will work our way around the house, adding more touches and updates. At the bottom of this blog there is a pic of the deck how it looked when we moved in.
In the picture above you can see that the demolition has begun. The diamonds on the side are where the lattice skirting was removed, the previous owners had spray painted the lattice. In another life this was a driveway going in to the garage. The cats love to hide under there, but with the new deck it will be closed in with a rock base so they will have to find a new spot.

This is the same view as the picture below when the deck was intact. You can see one white post is still in place when they first started the demo.

As always with a remodel, surprises. This is the rot they found underneath the ceiling and fascia. The guys will replace this and the deck will have a sealed seam metal roof. Eventually we will re-roof the house as well.

We live in the Texas Hill Country. Our 3 acres is heavy with cedar and oaks. But our cedars are not nearly this large! The guys went to a neighboring town about 30 miles away to get these large straight cedar posts. They brought them back, power washed to remove the bark and these will be the beams for our deck.

First corner post in place. You can also see they have used cedar logs for a header across the front of the deck. Though you can't really tell in this picture, this is a huge log! they lifted it with a forklift and used a chain saw to notch out the joints. Fascinating to watch. I will post more pics as things progress.