Winner: Gary Morris - July 2009

Overview

I bought this little house in 2000 and always planned on having a deck and hot tub.  Most of Austin is on 3 inches of hard soil over a deep limestone shelf.  Digging holes for any reason is a challenge if not impossible, so I was very interested in the floating deck system when I first saw it at Home Depot. 
 
With the unstable economy, it might seem like a bad time to invest in my home, but I took advantage of lower interest rates, refinanced my mortgage and took out $6,000 in equity to finance the project – my own “stimulus” package.  It lowered my monthly payment by $50, I have this great deck and hot tub, and no credit card bills!  It’s a win-win situation all around.
 
I wanted the deck to have an open feel, and double as a stage for yard concerts - I have musician friends.  I also wanted a pergola to screen the hot tub from the neighbor’s house which is close.  I decided a contemporary design would compliment the simple lines of the 1929 cottage, the pale gray color blends nicely with the native limestone exterior, and keeps the deck from getting so hot (it’s been 105 almost every day for the past week…) The house is in an upcoming neighborhood, but still modest, and I didn’t want to invest too much money.  I chose pressure treated pine since it’s inexpensive.  My total material cost for the deck in was under $2,000.
 
I had to dig 5 holes for the pergola posts.  That was my least favorite part.  At one point, I ran into some old, abandoned galvanized water pipes that serviced a trailer that’s long been removed.  I had to rent a saw-all to cut through them.  I also had to rent a jack-hammer to demolish the concrete steps at the back door.  All of this is new to me.  I’ve never built anything like this before.  Once the posts were set, the rest moved pretty quickly.  Probably the longest and most tedious part was installing all 124 2x2 lattice pieces on the pergola itself.  If it wasn’t challenge enough, I installed them all from the bottom, so each one had to be clamped in place.  It took forever, but I thought of it as a meditation; like any repetitive craft – weaving, knitting, etc., you just get into the rhythm of it and it’s over before you know it.
 
Anyway, it makes such a HUGE difference to the back yard.  It’s really pleasant and enjoyable there now, and it looks great!  I’m sure this investment will pay for itself many times over in the long run.
 
Thanks!  I enjoyed it!
 
Gary C. Morris