We started this project on the Monday after Easter (we had Friday – Monday off). Paul did most of the work for the project, but I helped when I could. We used crow bars to pull the boards up, which involved lots of banging and noise. The dogs were outside with us, but Chessie (the lab mix) hates noise and banging, so she stayed on the back deck. Flurry (beagle mix) loves to be in the center of everything so she was sitting on the top step and was usually in our way but she didn’t seem to notice.
Once all the 2x6 boards were pulled up, Paul noted that we needed to put more dirt under the porch to help block the water that seems to run straight under the house whenever it rains. And this task definitely required the skid steer. Unfortunately, the bucket on the skid steer was 1 inch too wide to fit between the poles of the porch. Which meant Paul would fill the bucket with dirt, and then bring it as close to the porch as possible, and I would use a shovel to help dump it out of the bucket. Then while Paul went to refill the bucket, I would do my best to shovel the dirt over to the correct part of the porch. After we got all the dirt dumped, we both shoveled dirt into all the pockets and low spots.
At one point as Paul was off getting dirt, Chessie decided to come to the front and see what we were up to. When Paul came back with the dirt, Chessie was right in the way and didn’t know which way to go. So I called her to me (I was standing in front of the porch on the steps that were still there). Chessie was leery of the skid steer, so she tried to hug the side of the house and then did what she always does – hopped up onto the deck from the side grass. She didn’t realize the top boards were all gone so in mid-air (almost like a Wiley Coyote cartoon), her eyes bugged out, her feet started working, and Paul and I both thought she was going to fall between the beams. Miraculously she was able to jump from beam to beam and she made it to the steps where I was. The look on her face said it all – “What have you done to my territory?!?” Paul and I laughed for about 2 minutes straight.
Then the project expanded and we started digging a trench around the perimeter of the front yard to make another barrier/guide for the rain water in hopes that it would go around to the side, instead of under the house. This project lasted the rest of the afternoon. By the time we decided to put the top boards on the porch, the sun was low in the sky. And then the batteries for our cordless drill died. Paul went all over the camp looking for another drill – cordless or corded, and couldn’t find any of them, which was CRAZY since the camp has about 20 of them! So we went to Bastrop (30 minutes away) to Home Depot and bought a cheap corded drill to be our back up for the future. By the time we got home, it was pitch black so the project was put on hold.
Tuesday, we left for work by straddling between 2 beams and inching our way from the front door to the steps. For lunch, we straddled the beams and inched our way back into the house. I tried to open the door slowly so I could warn the dogs about the missing deck, but it didn’t work. Flurry shot through the door and immediately dropped into the dirt. That evening I had my sewing lesson in Austin, so we left around 4:30 and didn’t get back until around 10pm. So in the dark we put the 1x6 boards on – we drilled 2 screws into each board just enough to get them stable, with the exception of the board closest to the door because we had to cut a notch into it.
Wednesday morning I leashed up the dogs for their walk and tried to prevent Flurry from falling through the gap where the first board should be. My attempts failed and her front leg fell through. At noon I came home to get food to take to the ladies Bible study that we have each Wed at 12:30. I heated up my food, and then emptied the dishwasher and before I knew it I had to race out the door. So I had food in one hand, and was closing the solid door with my other hand as I stepped outside onto the porch. As I did so, I skillfully placed my foot in the center of the gap and crashed through the hole…at least until my thigh caught me just above the knee. Needless to say my breath was taken away and I pushed my food out the door, eased my leg out of the hole, and hobbled back inside to the couch where I raggedly breathed out “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow”. Both dogs came to lick me but it didn’t help.
It’s now three weeks later and the knot on my leg is just now becoming less tender. Thankfully Paul put the last board on the deck when he came home for lunch so no one else was hurt.
Wednesday morning I leashed up the dogs for their walk and tried to prevent Flurry from falling through the gap where the first board should be. My attempts failed and her front leg fell through. At noon I came home to get food to take to the ladies Bible study that we have each Wed at 12:30. I heated up my food, and then emptied the dishwasher and before I knew it I had to race out the door. So I had food in one hand, and was closing the solid door with my other hand as I stepped outside onto the porch. As I did so, I skillfully placed my foot in the center of the gap and crashed through the hole…at least until my thigh caught me just above the knee. Needless to say my breath was taken away and I pushed my food out the door, eased my leg out of the hole, and hobbled back inside to the couch where I raggedly breathed out “Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow”. Both dogs came to lick me but it didn’t help.
It’s now three weeks later and the knot on my leg is just now becoming less tender. Thankfully Paul put the last board on the deck when he came home for lunch so no one else was hurt.
Ah, Do-It-Yourself projects are so much fun! Next up...pictures of the finished living room once the paint dried and my family helped us hang pictures and chair rail moulding, etc...but not tonight...I need sleep!
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