The Deck Is Dun-Dun-DONE!

Take a look at our backyard deck refresh! 

Alex slaved away at it while I was in Michigan, then over the Fourth of July, and finished it up on Saturday!  We still need to stain it (ugh and pick a stain), but man it feels good to have the boards leveled out and railings.  It's a WHOLE deck now!

In case you are wondering about what or why we changed it, lets look back.  The first time we redid our deck was in the summer of 2010.  The boards were rotting and spaced too far a part (even little Sadie got her paw stuck between them once, so sad!).

Alex tore it a part and added new boards that were spaced appropriately along with a new lower level.

 After that this was kind of how it looked ever since.  We hoped to have added the railing and stain last summer, but the tornado wrecked those plans (still breaks my heart seeing our backyard with those trees and shade).  Then over time we started to notice a problem with our first redo...

The boards were popping up unevenly as the nails loosened up.  It didn't take Alex long to figure out that he should have used decking screws instead of decking nails (remember we aren't perfect, learning as we go!).  He also determined that we needed additional support joists on the old frame. 

 So Alex started tearing up the deck again....

Deja vu?!?!

 Alex figured he should flip each board since they were faded before screwing them in. If you look closely you can see one of the additional joists he installed.  One things for certain, we will have to be more timely with staining this time!

After getting the base set, he began to install the deck railing.

 Alex picked the railing style knowing that the only thing I was against was the plain skinny railing sections that you can buy at Home Depot.  He picked up some 1 X 6" wood and created this on his own.  I think he did a fantastic job and I love the style!

To give the deck some flair he also built two wood planter boxes and a bench.  Yep, always above and beyond (even though it means more cursing and time in the hot sun, LOL!).

With the bench and planters in place the deck was done!  Hooray!

I'm loving this improved space right outside our door, just feels cozier!  Heck, maybe now we can finally enjoy our yard this summer?!?

Here's a closer look at the finished planters and bench. 

Hmmm... I am sure there's ways to decorate the deck and bench right???

Alex already said that I can remove those little trees (because they'll one day be full grown blue spruce trees) and add some pretty flowers so I might do that this week!

  Woo-hoo!  Well, we can almost check that one off of our Summer Plans list (still need to stain), but I love it!

What do you think of the deck? 

What kind of fun outdoor decorations should I add?

Decorating in the outdoors is still kind of foreign to me, if you have ideas let me know!