I woke up May 18, 2013 with an epiphany on how I was going to build a deck in the courtyard before my son’s high school graduation on June 15.  I had bought the recycled Trex decking from the Habitat ReStore in Manassas, VA sometime in 2010 and it had been stacked in my garage ever since.  Over the years I had also accumulated some hardware and ten concrete piers that I thought would probably be used.

That Saturday morning I drew the plans and started a list of the additional materials I’d need to buy.  I Googled sites that would give me more details on the actual construction just so I’d feel that I wasn’t missing something crucial in the design, but I wasn’t.  The design was very simple:  Use nine of the concrete piers to support 4 X 4 pressure treated beams.  Line up two beams end-to-end atop three piers and repeat with two more assemblies.  Get everything level with just the right amount of tilt so the snow would melt and run off in the right direction then lay joists on top and decking over everything.

My stepson, John, and my son, Alec, were great helpers.  John volunteered an entire weekend to do nothing but dig holes for the piers and get the beams installed and leveled.  Yes, it took us two days to get this right, but we knew before starting that this would take a long time, so we just relaxed and took our time.

We didn’t attach boards to the side of the house or garage for several reasons.  First, we would have needed construction permits and I didn’t want to go through that process.  Second, as an amateur builder, I wasn’t comfortable removing siding and installing flashing, etc.  Our final deck is legal for our community and very solid because the piers aren’t moving and the decking is almost touching both buildings, so it’s not moving either.

Building the joist support structure was back-breaking work and gave me a whole new appreciation for professional builders who do this for ungrateful clients year in and year out.  Alec and I spent at least an hour each day after school adding a few supports until we finally got them all installed.  Then it was time for the Trex.

I had bought the Trex pieces at Habitat and the only thing I knew was that the original deck had been laid on a 45 degree angle and it had covered at least 8′ X 23′.  My deck is 12′ X 16′, so very close.  We laid out the decking and discovered it fit a chevron pattern very closely.  We also had to cut one board to 2-1/2″ width to make everything fit right.

We love our deck.  Alec and I finished it two days before his graduation and everyone who came to the party afterward was amazed to finally be able to sit outside and enjoy the space.  They’d been waiting five years for me to get this done.  Best of all?  My neighbors next door paid $7,000 for their deck.  I paid about $700 for mine.