The Sun Deck lasted way longer than estimated since we used recycled redwood to build it. I have fond memories of driving to Santa Rosa with my dad to pick up the redwood from a guy who rebuilt his deck. It was a long drive, but I was determined to only buy recycled materials. I’ve learned a bit more since then! Once part of the deck boards fell in, we used pots to block the walkway. It was unsafe.
The next task was moving the water line to the garden and also removing the sprinkler heads which my dad put in years ago when we wanted lawn in the front yard. The hose to the garden crossed over the deck which was annoying.
On April 22, Travis Martin Plumbing came over to check out my idea to run the line to the garden. He had a plan and made suggestions with the deck in place. This instigated me to cut apart the deck and open it all up. I did not want to just remove deck boards and attach the line to the deck frame. It all had to go, and good thing, it was all rotten.
Travis made the suggestion to remove the screws with an impact driver. I got started that week little by little removing the screws.
On April 25 – 26, I cut the deck apart with my circular and reciprocating saws. I kept up the railing to keep out the deer.
There was hardly any boards that could be saved. We took 3 trailer loads of rotten wood to the dump.
On Tuesday, May 5, Travis Martin and three of his assistants moved the water line to the garden. We dug the area first and found another line that ran to the laundry room. I’m glad we found this so the cement pad would not cover it. Travis ran copper to the garden, and instead of attaching it to the side of the garage foundation, his guys dug a trench and buried it which was the best option. This way, the water line would not be in the way of the deck ledger or the 220v electrical line coming out of the back of the garage for the hot tub.
Since Travis cut out and removed the sprinklers, I asked him to keep the low voltage electrical there so we could add landscape lighting and/or lighting in the deck.
Having the hose spigot in the garden is wonderful!
The next phase is to build the cement pad for the hot tub. I scheduled our licensed contractor and friend Ian. I told him I wanted a 8×8 pad so he estimated 70 bags of 60lb cement. We talked, and he decided that 7.5×7.5 would be better. He moved up his schedule to come earlier than the end of May. He was willing to give us a week of work to build the deck too, but we have to wait to put in the electrical. All in time!
On May 12, Ian and Erick built the framework for the pad using the 2×6 redwood I salvaged from the deck. I’m glad these boards were handy and in decent shape.
I’m expecting the cement delivery tomorrow from Big Creek Lumber in Santa Cruz which is providing free delivery. Once it’s delivered, we plan to move the cement bags closer to the work space for the guys to start mixing at 8am on Thursday, May 14.
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