I completed installing the railings today. I still have to stain the columns and touch up the stain on the railings:
Also left to complete is the floor tiles on the deck and the paint on the skirt around the deck, but both of these have to wait for warmer weather.
Work on garage entry deck continues. Today I fabricated the 8 newel posts from 4×4 cedar, installed bead board on the skirt, installed 4 of the newel posts, and attached the trim at the top and bottom of the beadboard.
Closeup of one of the newel posts
With the generous support of several relatives in the form of Lowes gift cards, I was able to begin construction of the garage entry door deck that we have been planning for a while. This deck will give us a place to stop, set down groceries, and take off our shoes and coats before coming in the house. I will be building a shoe storage bench along one wall and a cubby along the other. Ultimately we intend to install beadboard on the lower 4 feet of the wall.
When completed, it will look something like this:
Sunday morning we went to Menards and Lowes to buy supplies. That afternoon and evening I completed the deck framing.
Crowbar at the ready to destroy the junky old builder steps and railing
Stairs removed, and the garage floor scrubbed clean. (oops, got a little water on the drywall)
Deck framing completed.
This evening I finished the subfloor, sheathing and stairs:
Subfloor and sheathing installed
Stairs built and installed.
Thanks to the grandparents (both sets) and my sister Chris and her family for helping to fund this project.
Christmas Eve and Christmas day it was raining here, so all of our snow melted. We didn’t have to wait long, though. Last night it started snowing and didn’t stop until this evening. We ended up with at least 10 inches of beautiful, fluffy snow. One day late, but worth the wait.
