A snowball in July

Not really hehehe, but I got your attention didn't I??!!!

Hub (he has stated I can call him by his real name, so hub is hereafter referred to as James) , James is a handy feller who doesn't always show it. When he does, I so appreciate it. Thanks booboo ; )

Our deck has had several weak boards since we purchased our home in March of 2010. The problem has been amplified due to heavy traffic from us, and the doggers.

Top of step, left side next to the railing was the danger zone. And a cute booty ; )

My flip-flopped foot demonstrating the weakness of the boards

As you can see, there was obviously a weak spot under those 3 boards, most likely due to rotting wood. So my handy man picked up some 2x6's yesterday while I was at work, and got to doing something about it finally!!

Thus, the snowball in July. Its been in the 90's (finally, I think my complaining had something to do with it), and as James tore into the deck, we realized the problem was larger than expected, as 'quick fixes' usually are.

 Hello rotted wood!! Yikes!

Before we removed the top boards, we had been unsure about the extent of damage on the support 4x6" board. Obviously, it had to be replaced. And under some other boards we hadn't originally planned on removing. Snowball grows.

Anyone know what these lil capsules are from? They were all over inside the damaged 4x6". Moisture ants?

The wood was completely rotted, and wet to the touch. It hasn't rained here in at least 2 weeks, and the sprinkler doesn't reach this part of the deck...

Sammy supervised the project.

So off I went, Sammy in tow, to Home Depot for a new 4x6" support beam. We went with treated pine, it was $11 and change for an 8ft length. James had the deck torn apart when we returned home.

We made all of our cuts, and got the new 4x6" installed before it got too dark/late, and the project had to halt till this morning.

I love a dirty man : )

Awww yeah new non-rotten board!

needed a new support as well since we sliced the old board in half

Late night shirtless work session, oh yeah

While he finished up and cleaned up all that dust, I prepared a nice dinner and drank too much wine. Typical.

recipe coming soon!

A good nights sleep, and James was up by 9:30 finishing up the deck.

Same angle as before, looks a whole lot  better eh?!

And there it is kids! A new partial deck. We are power-washing and staining soon, so those boards won't stand out so much. And of course, James is annoyed because the face of the tops step has a janky cut doesn't match, so he is going to replace that board soon.

Boy, that was a long post! Anyone else have projects that spiraled out of control? Think my man is hot? I do too. How bout your supervisor, as cute as Sammy? Spill! And stay cool this weekend!!