Deck of Cards.

(Bet you thought this was going to be a rant about our government. Let me think… Not this time.)

From Merriam Webster- Definition House of Cards: a structure, situation, or institution that is insubstantial, shaky, or in constant danger of collapse.

Amber Skyze commented yesterday that she likes our deck. It’s a new deck. A desperately needed new deck. The deck it replaced could be described as above- a structure, situation, or institution that is insubstantial, shaky, or in constant danger of collapse.

I worried I would step on one of the rotting boards and fall through, slice my femoral or my popliteal artery and bleed to death before I could extricate myself and reach the phone. I’m not joking. It was really and truly that bad… maybe worse. Several areas had already broken apart, leaving behind gaping holes. And we couldn’t just remove the whole thing because we’d designed the landscape around the deck.

Wish I had a photo of the old deck, which, by necessity, was a constant work in progress for ‘Oscar’. First he removed an awful roof and rebuilt the supports into a railing. Then he had to repaint it every 4-5 years because the original owners had painted over the redwood. Maybe the avoidance of any photos was subconsciously deliberate on my part. Maybe I didn’t really want a picture of the old deck.

The main issue with rebuilding, and it had to be rebuilt from the ground up as the support structure was entirely rotted, was cost. I got estimate after estimate but could not seem to find anyone willing to do the work for less than $14,500. That was the lowest estimate I received. The highest was nearly $18,000. (As you can see, it’s a big honkin’ deck. We could host a cotillion on this deck.) But our limit was $7000. Anything above that didn’t fit our budget.

We wanted redwood, but we didn’t want top-of-the-line redwood. The knottiest redwood available was just fine. Redwood is hardy stuff and knots are cool. Who cares about knots? Not us. We couldn’t care less about knots. In fact, we prefer knots. You should see our hardwood floors. Knots everywhere.

I turned to the underground grapevine and I found an out-of-work contractor/carpenter. His specialty had been outdoor decks. He found some inexpensive redwood and his estimate came in at $6300. Hired him on the spot! Took him a solid week working solo but who cares? He did a terrific job. Even used screws instead of nails in the event we have to replace a board.

Redwood looks fantastic, especially when it’s brand spanking new (and wet). ‘Oscar’ plans to give it a quick sand in the spring and seal it with a clear sealant. We’ll see how long we can keep it looking new. Redwood weathers to a gray-brown after a year or so.

It’s so nice to have a deck upon which we can walk, and waltz, with confidence. Thanks for the compliment, Amber!