It's been a long time coming. We purchased this beach house nearly four years ago, and are FINALLY wrapping up the last deck renovation! Actually, other than some landscape work, this deck is the last really big project.
During most of June and part of July, our contractors stayed at the house and rebuilt our dilapidated old deck. This was supposed to be a rot replacement project, but as we got deeper and deeper into it, we realized every single board needed replaced! Apparently, the only thing holding this deck up was hope.
Every one of our joist hangers also needed replacing! The ocean climate is hard on structures. After looking at our existing deck, and the decks of some of our neighbors, we knew we did not want to use galvanized metal hangers-- it is simply no match for our damp salt air. Our next door neighbor's deck is only three years old, and they already have major rust and corrosion issues.
We decided to have stainless steel hangers fabricated. It added to the cost and to the timeline, but it will be well worth it in the long run. Our contractors also special ordered stainless steel deck screws. Again, this added to the cost, but in the long run it will be worth it.
The contractors just wrapped up the work and are in the clean-up stage. We asked them to set aside plenty of non-pressure treated, non-painted wood for our beach bonfires. We already burned quite a bit on the Fourth of July, but there is plenty left!
These pictures were taken on our last visit -- it will be a few more days before we can get away from the city to see the finished product. I'm pretty excited about it! It's going to be uh-maze-ing to sit out there in the morning and just chill with a cup of tea -- or a bloody mary....
We had the contractors build a gate at the top to keep pets and toddlers from wandering off, too. We love to have friends and family out, and kids and pets are always invited!
During most of June and part of July, our contractors stayed at the house and rebuilt our dilapidated old deck. This was supposed to be a rot replacement project, but as we got deeper and deeper into it, we realized every single board needed replaced! Apparently, the only thing holding this deck up was hope.
Every one of our joist hangers also needed replacing! The ocean climate is hard on structures. After looking at our existing deck, and the decks of some of our neighbors, we knew we did not want to use galvanized metal hangers-- it is simply no match for our damp salt air. Our next door neighbor's deck is only three years old, and they already have major rust and corrosion issues.
We decided to have stainless steel hangers fabricated. It added to the cost and to the timeline, but it will be well worth it in the long run. Our contractors also special ordered stainless steel deck screws. Again, this added to the cost, but in the long run it will be worth it.
The contractors just wrapped up the work and are in the clean-up stage. We asked them to set aside plenty of non-pressure treated, non-painted wood for our beach bonfires. We already burned quite a bit on the Fourth of July, but there is plenty left!
These pictures were taken on our last visit -- it will be a few more days before we can get away from the city to see the finished product. I'm pretty excited about it! It's going to be uh-maze-ing to sit out there in the morning and just chill with a cup of tea -- or a bloody mary....
We had the contractors build a gate at the top to keep pets and toddlers from wandering off, too. We love to have friends and family out, and kids and pets are always invited!
I'll try to get more pictures of the finished deck up soon!