Outdoor Nightmare: Part 3

Well--- if you know me, you know that sometime things get worse before they get better.. and that step A,B,C leads to steps A-Z in order to get complete.. Or sometimes that it's step C and then A and B..

Get my drift?

Well anyways, the plans of concrete this weekend are scraped. After spending time in the yard yesterday evening it became obvious that I have an eyesore that needs some attention first..

That being: the deck.

This was a picture from before purchase.. it's not AS bad as it was in this picture-- the railings are at least attached.. but add the dirt all around and it's an eyesore.

I've come to the conclusion that rebuilding the deck FIRST will be way easier than laying concrete and THEN trying to demo and rebuild the deck..I'm considering making it slightly larger-- and therefore I'll have room for an actual set of furniture out there to enjoy the atmosphere.

For the deck I am calling in a contractor. This one is built way wrong and needs to be corrected..

Some of the issues being:

It's rotting all over the place
No flashing up against the house
Railings coming loose
Earth to wood contact-- a big no no for termite areas like the South.

So anyways.. I have a couple contractors lined up that I'm meeting with.. Researching pulling a permit and if it's needed etc.. I will be tackling the demo. I'm lucky that my neighbor is a contractor-- and he's on my list to pick his brain.

Maybe some Pizza and Beer will entice a couple friends to come by ready to vent anger. haha!
PLUS being as frugal as I am-- potentially some of the wood can be salvaged and be used to make the future concrete forms? Win win if all goes well and as planned. 

I have a couple inspiration pictures of some qualities I like. I'm not deadset on a style and design at the moment. $$$ flow is going to partially dictate that.

 

Source: mybeerpix.com via Megan on Pinterest

I like how this deck has a little alcove section for the dining area-- If this was done it'd be from off of the sunporch area.

Source: doors-sliding.com via Megan on Pinterest

I'm a fan of the angled steps and the multi-layer look of this one.
Any thoughts?

So while that project remains on hold for the time being--- Sod and gravel paths and the vegetable garden will take place this weekend.

It's going to be too gorgeous of a weekend to NOT be outside.