Our New Party Palace

As soon as it got down to a cool 96 degrees outside, we decided we had to create a bigger space for us to be outside. So through a couple weeks of preparation (ripping out shrubs, killing slugs, moving sprinklers), we got our space ready for the new deck extension.

I'm sure L could tell more details about the process--about attaching some board to the foundation or doing the "underlayment" I think is the term. Yes, L can... Our favorite handyman was up for the adventure so, after the prep work we woke up early Thurs. morning had a few cups of coffee and we were ready to go. Pugsley, joined for a cup of joe from Jeff's thermos. He needed the energy so he could run around, get in the way, and bark at all power tools. For the underlayment we had to dig post holes, pour cement, set posts and a 4x8 beam, which fell on my leg, more bruises, drill holes in the foundation and then use anchor bolts to anchor the ledger board to the house. Once all the joists were hung the Trex could begin.




We pre-drilled to screw in all the Trex, making sure to space them. Of course, I've skipped over the endless trips to Home Depot and the carrying of all of
the supplies--Trex are freakin heavy--and the bruises I have on my forearms prove that. And then there was the stairs, the railing, the staining of the railing, and the creation of the doggy tripod ramp (I insisted; L figured out how to make it happen--now all we have to do is train the dogs to use the doggy ramp).

In short, I lost 4 days of my life, found new bruises practically every other hour, begged L to let us have a break after 2 full days (until seriously 9-10pm at night), and I couldn't be happier with the new party palace. Seriously, it's awesome. If you haven't been to visit yet, you should. We've got a few new patio furniture pieces and we have eaten outside every night since we finished. It is my new favorite thing about the new house.