It’s now the middle of August. Where did the summer go? I’ve taken some time away from the blog to focus on the long list of house projects we want to accomplish this year. Almost all of them have centered on the yard. Thankfully, the list is slowly getting smaller and smaller.
I’ll be highlighting some of the work we’ve been doing over the next several blog posts, but I thought I would start with the one I’m most proud of: building a deck.
A clean slate
There wasn’t much to the back yard when we moved in last summer – unless you count the weeds. The yard is fairly flat, overgrown shrubs lined the back fence, and a small firepit sat off to one side.
We love to entertain, so we knew that a patio or deck was needed. After lots of research, we decided to go with a deck. However, an attached deck off the back porch wasn’t what I wanted.
In researching Mid-Century landscaping, much of the focus of outdoor spaces was to create an extension of the home. The two areas were tied together with large windows and thoughtful plantings. With that in mind, a revelation came to me: a floating deck off the kitchen. The idea was to walk out the back door and down a sidewalk to a deck one step up off the ground. We could build a pergola over it and eventually put an outdoor kitchen on the side. There’s plenty of year space, so why not use it. Plus, detaching the deck from the house would make it feel like a new living space in the middle of the yard.
Lots of prep and work
There was one major task that needed to be completed before any work could begin. The site had a tree in the way. We could have moved the deck several feet to avoid this. But since the tree was fairly small and was ash – meaning it would eventually be affected by the invasive and deadly emerald ash borer – I didn’t feel bad about cutting it down.
All the planning and dreaming is fun, but then comes the hard part – the work. We wanted to save some money, so we decided to tackle the whole project ourselves. It was intimidating at first, especially having never done woodwork or carpentry before. Luckily, there’s a YouTube video for just about everything!
Our first step was laying out the space within the yard. Then we removed the weeds and grass with a sod cutter. We decided to use concrete pier blocks for the foundation instead of footings, so we marked out the location of the piers and removed some dirt so the finished deck would be only one step up off the ground. This part of the project was the most tedious, because we needed to make sure the piers were in the right place for the joists to sit on all while making sure the piers were level. Next, we built the frame and joints. We cantilevered the edges of the deck so none of the piers were visible. Finally, we laid down the deck boards. That was the fun part because you saw the deck take shape before your eyes.
We cleared the site with the help of a sod cutter. 
Trenches needed to be dug to ensure the deck was a steps height off the ground. 
All the concrete pier blocks needed to be leveled and positioned correctly. 
With all of the pre-planning, framing the deck was fairly simple. 
Complete! 
I love how the deck creates an outdoor living space. 
After all the hard work, it’s so nice to sit and relax on the new deck.
It took us just over two weekends to do the whole project. There were frustrations, sore muscles, and some long days. But in the end, we’re so happy with the finished product. I think it’s the perfect addition to the back yard.
Up next: the pergola.
Mid Mod Suburban 
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