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.