A New Deck for the Nolans
September 2006

After seven or so years with a 4' wide rear porch with no railing, we decided to expand a bit. Early in the summer we spent some time clearing the brush and a few trees, finishing up just before leaving for a McCall Glacier trip in early August. While we were away, the gravel guys came and made us a pad. When we returned, we had about 3 weeks to complete the deck before a party we were planning. It was a pretty busy few weeks, trying to build, work, and track a toddler, but we got it done in time and I think it turned out pretty nice.

The outhouse started to look pretty lonely without the woodshed and brush surrounding it.

It used to be just a tangle of brush looking in this direction.

Same here.

Lars, carpenter extraordinaire, did most of the real work.

Kristin, painter and carpenter helper extraordinaire, kept things happening.

I had a time-lapse camera set up. This is the first frame, where you can see also the gravel pad and first beams being set in place.

Click here to see the movie (45MB and 10 minutes long)

The freshly painted floor.

The completed deck. The rest of the house now needs a facelift (or an original face...) to keep up with the new deck.

A nice place to sit.

We bought a space heater so we could enjoy the deck a bit more often.

The view out the back door has changed considerably. Now we dont have to worry about Turner making a break for it.

We can grill in any weather now, and not get wet.

A pellet gun stays at the ready in case of squirrel attack.

A rollie cart serves as a temporary baby gate to the ramp.

The ramp is a little steep, but now we can use the garden cart to bring our firewood right up to the door instead of carrying it by hand.

The deck has a clear roof, which lets in lots of light. When looking out the house windows, the roof does not obscure the view because it is so high.

One of the primary motivations for the deck was for additional storage space, especially for stuff that does not need to stay warm.

Now we have lots.

There's also plenty of storage space under the deck.

It's a little more organized than it looks.

Lots of room for skiis too.

The first party. Hopefully one of many.