Monday, July 20, 2009

Paint The Deck!

This is my major occupation for the week. All day, every day, except for Wednesday when I will go into town for the "Huggy Bunch's" quilting day- I think I deserve one day off from the painting, don't you?! I actually rather enjoy painting, making things look fresh & new, but it's messy work & physically much more demanding than sewing!


DH has had to dismantle our deck- well, he has more than half of it torn up, the rest will be disassembled in like fashion after he finishes repairing these areas.


It appears that the builder failed to use "treated" timber for the joists that cantilever to the deck & they are rotting! Arrrggghhh, what a huge job this is & one that will take a month or more- maybe most of the summer. DH has to remove all the rotted timber from the 2x10 joists [cutting down 3" into the full length of each support ] treat the remainder with a preservative & then bolt on replacement planks of new treated wood. The Trex planks are all immune from rotting so they have been piled up on the corner of the deck awaiting re-installation.

It has of course rendered our deck pretty much unusable in this wonderful summer weather in the mountains. No sitting out in the evenings with adult beverage enjoying the view, the wildlife, the sunset, the stars .............arrggghhhh!
The railings were due for painting anyway so that's what I am doing while they are all removed from the upper deck & easier to paint.
So far yesterday & today I have painted all of these......



and this one, plus a few more pieces not shown, but they all require a second coat.

Tomorrow I plan to finish up a first application on the last three sections .......
& begin a second coat on all the rest!

This is a partial view from below, pretty sad eh?

This work is hard on the body-at least it is on this senior citizen body of mine-my back & my arm were really sore from yesterday, so today I wore one of those back support thingies & an armband & it has helped, I'm not feeling so bad. I did look a sight though & I was wondering if the UPS man might be too scared to get out of his truck!
And here's a photo of my new little embroidery machine -I would much rather be playing with it than painting.
By week's end I hope I will be back to what I love & do best-the wonderful world of sewing & quilting.

8 comments:

joanne said...

What a HUGE job you have going on there! Oh my, the view is breathtaking, it must be absolutely enchanting to sit outside in the evening with that adult type of drink...rest your achy muscles tomorrow and take some time for you. Take care..jj

Kim said...

UGH........maybe the heat would be better???
It will be fantastic when its done!
what a view, I can just smell that fresh mountain air...........

Happy sewing

Keetha Broyles said...

Oh wow! What a deck and what a view! I HOPE you'll show us pictures of the finished deck AND the beautiful view from it.

Reddirt Woman said...

Oh, my... you all have a big job on your hands. I love doing stuff like that but the whole deck would be bigger than I'd want to tackle. Painting the railing would be about my speed nowadays, too. It looks as though you've got space enough to lay them out to work on them. The views are absolutely incredible. I can see why you want to get it up and back in sitting shape. I'd be wanting breakfast, lunch and dinner on the deck just to breathe it all in...

It will be exciting to see the new things you'll be able to do with your new embroidery machine. I would have to go to school to use something like that but what fun it will be for you.

I hope the deck gets back up soon and you get to play with your new machine.

Hugs, Ros...

Helen

Gari in AL said...

When you get done with your deck, how about dropping down to AL and do mine? Mine is smaller and wouldn't take too much time. LOL

Miri said...

You have a really huge deck! What a fabulous view!

Looks like you both have your work cut out for you this summer...hope you get a few nights relaxing out on the deck when its finished!

Anonymous said...

Roslyn,
I am a representative of Trex and would love to see pictures of the completed deck. What a wonderful view and Good Luck with the project!

Pat M
Trex Company

Steph the plumber said...

What a lovely view!

When you have finished building your decking you will have hours of enjoyment sitting outside.