Getting decked

As of yesterday, our next home improvement project is officially started - a deck in our back yard!

We've been talking about either replacing the concrete patio that was there or building a deck for quite a while now, and after our 4th of July party we decided it was definitely time.  The existing concrete was literally 8 small squares of concrete, which had all settled at different heights of course.  It was always difficult to get anything level on there, and it was a trip hazard just waiting to happen.  We know whatever we do will definitely add value to the house, and we'll get some enjoyment out of it too of course.

After comparing some prices and doing some figuring, we decided a deck would be the best option, because it's cheaper and looks nicer than the concrete.  Bill purchased the materials on Monday, and they were delivered yesterday around noon.

Yesterday Bill was off work and he spent his afternoon busting up concrete.  After a mostly failed attempt with a shovel and sledge hammer, he borrowed a bobcat from our neighbor's friend which made it go a lot faster!  The original plan was just to bust holes in the concrete to set the deck posts, but it ended up that they had to take out 3 or 4 of the sections that were there.  So now we have a pile of concrete in our back yard!  The guy with the bobcat would remove it for us for $100 and we haven't decided yet whether that's worth it or not.

Last night Bill had our friends Justin and Chelsea over to help set the posts, and I believe they got all of the posts in.  They got the railing off the porch too, so it definitely looks like a construction zone out there!  The hot tub has been drained, moved to in front of the garage, and refilled, since we figured we'd definitely want the hot tub (especially Bill) for sore muscles after putting hours in working on the deck!

We have been taking pictures, and at some point (either tonight or tomorrow) I'll upload them to Picasa and post the link on here.