Deck Update - Railing Installed!

I suppose this should really be entitled Part 3 of the backyard renovation, since it has had its own saga. If you've seen my previous posts, you may remember that we started demolition of the old deck on May 11, then progressed through demo of the rest of the backyard and then construction. The deck was the most straightforward part of the renovation. Both demo of the old deck and construction of the new was accomplished fairly quickly.

Quickly enough that by the early part of June we were able to place the furniture and plant summer annuals in the pots. Our progress to that point was detailed in Backyard Renovation Reveal - Part 1. What hadn't happened on the deck at that time was the railing installation. 

 

I have to admit I loved the look of the deck without the railing! You really felt a part of the landscape. The furniture and potted plants were the focus and nothing interrupted the view.

For safety reasons, we obviously needed a railing. I spent a lot of time designing the railing I wanted. We had had a wooden railing on the old deck, but this time we wanted a metal railing, to provide a more open feeling and allow anyone sitting on the deck to be able to see the gardens.

 

Several weeks after our contractor ordered the pieces needed, he discovered that we were short by two of the design elements and they were no longer in production.

For the second round I designed a railing that would require less components. The parts were in stock. So far so good! Our contractor then notified us the price of the railing would nearly double. I was so disappointed.

Back to the drawing board. Third time's the charm, right? For this design, the component parts were in stock, the price was right, the welders were available. Perfect! And then we waited. We waited some more. Our order was stuck in the shipping time warp.

 

Finally! The railing was installed in mid-November, nearly five months after the deck had been completed.

I love how it turned out!

In Part 2 of our backyard renovation I talked about how our lab Joey enjoyed surveying the yard from our daughter's old wooden play set. From the fort he could see over the fence and watch everybody and every dog that walked by on the street. And when he was finished he would slide down the slide . . .

or walk down the gangplank!

I will bring you another post (or two!) in the spring when I've done some landscaping. In the meantime, I hope you check out all the changes in both Part 1 and Part 2!

 

Part 1 - the deck and upper patio

Part 2 - the middle and lower patios