Busy Times

I hope everyone visiting Luke's Ponderings has enjoyed the increase in blog topics since the re-branding started on June 1. June 2010 goes down as the month with the most blogs since I started blogging. Needless to say, July has started off rather slow on the blogging front for me. After I've completed this blog, it'll only make for the third blog entry of the month. But lately these days, I've found it extremely difficult trying to find time to blog. There's just been so much going on that it's been hard to fit in time to sit in front of my computer and type! Which is why tonight, I'm actually getting a head-start on tomorrow's blog topic (which is Luke's Tuesday). And I know lately I haven't really been following along to the specific days in which each topic is supposed to be. That is why I created the new graphics to accompany each blog topic so it'll be easier to see where it fits in. And, for the most part, they've all been in order except for when I've missed a day (or two, or lately three).

One of the bigger projects I've been working on is a new deck off the back of my house. With a plan I created at one of the home improvement retailers in Marquette, I created a design for a 10' by 16' deck. I started by tearing out the old set of cement steps and then with the help of my dad, we leveled the area where the deck was going to go. I will say this, the old steps broke apart fairly easy with a sledge hammer until I got to the steps themselves, which were solid concrete. There's no way I was able to break them apart unless I totally ruined my back. So my dad and I took a four mile drive to a local hardware store and rented a jack hammer for a little less than an hour. It only cost me $22 to rent and it was such a handy thing to use to break up those steps. I'm glad my dad thought of renting such a machine!

Then, while my dad and I were both on vacation from work, we started building the deck. I decided that instead of pouring cement for the foundation of the posts, I was going to use the block foundations, where the posts sit ontop of. The challenge with these is that you have to get them all level, and that proved to be very time consuming. However, we finally got all six blocks leveled and we began to assemble the deck. We ran into our fair share of issues along the way that slowed us down - but what project doesn't have delays? We're not the fastest do it yourself-ers in the world, but by the time our vacations were over with, we had built the entire deck and stairway. All that we had to do is build the railings around the deck and we'd be all set.

It took us a couple of more days to build the railings around the deck and now all we have left is the railings along the stairs. Once that is completed, the deck project will officially be done! So we don't have much more until my first major project on this house is completed. All in all, I'd say the deck project was very worth-while and I'm glad I decided last year that I wanted a new deck back there. It offers much more privacy than the deck off the front and it's also the cooler side of the house and that deck will mostly sit in the shade. I'm definitely looking forward to spending many warm summer days back there.