Deck Raising with Mike

Mike gave me some deck building 101 classes this weekend. Here is the result. (he was only here for two days plus a morning and an evening)!

I had the posts in and pea gravel done last Wednesday

On Thursday evening we hung the beams onto the posts

Everything was leveled with Mike's laser level

Friday we got the joists in place and squared.

We went on to put in posts and bracing to hold them tight.

70 deck boards later we were ready to start laying the flooring

That didn't take long. We ate dinner on the deck on Friday.

Saturday we worked on railing and stairs

We can't believe we got this much done in a weekend. I now have some painting to do and finish up with the railing and some finishing touches! That Mike, what a guy!!!

A beautiful day up north

We've had a couple of gorgeous days here this week and are trying to make the most of them.
I have been busy putting posts in for our new deck and today Nancy and I spread pea gravel on the base. We are ready for Mike to come up on Thursday and we will start framing and building on Friday.
After working and eating lunch we headed for Lake Michigan and enjoyed a couple of hours in the sunshine. What a glorious day!

I spent a couple of days setting the posts up last weekend.

Today we spread pea gravel on top of landscape mesh to keep the weeds down under the deck.

After lunch it was off to the beach.

 

Shalda creek is runnng along the beach for a couple of hundred yards this year. We had to wade across to sit on the edge of Lake Michigan. Bugs were not bad at all today with a nice breeze blowing.

My throne awaits!

And you thought I was done for the summer!

I know it's been a long time since I posted anything here, but I was taking a break from the blog.
We have been in the "up north" groove lately with work several days a week, and Traverse City shopping, and friends and family visiting on the weekends.
I finally got my permit approved by the county and the new deck will be on the agenda for the next couple of weeks. We hope to be sitting on it for fourth of July weekend.
We have been down state a couple of times since we got back from our winter trip and have seen the kids and grand kids to celebrate birthdays that have gone by this year. Everyone is doing well and making progress in their lives and careers.
Becky and Dave have accepted an offer on their house and are working with a builder to build a new house in Ann Arbor Township. They will have a busy year ahead of them.
We haven't had very many beach days yet, as the temperatures are just starting to get hot the past two weeks. It seems when we do get to the beach the flies and bugs are bad. It has been a wet spring so maybe that has something to do with it. The cherry farmers should have a good year with a normal spring and no crop last year the trees should be ready to produce a bumpier crop and the warehouses are empty and will accept all the cherries they can get. The corn and hay should be good too with the rain and cooler temperatures we have been having.
Hope everyone will plan on coming up to see us this summer and spend some time. We are always glad to have company and the boat is ready for the water.
Hope everyone is well.