Deck 2: Labor Pains
Hi all! Last week we left off with the old deck demolished and the rebuilding imminent. We still had a bit of prepping to do before the framing could begin and Monday morning bright and early Carlos Tree Service was on the job to remove 4 tree stumps. Carlos had cut down the trees for us last year and at the time we opted to not have the stumps removed to keep costs down. Well, take my word for it; if you ever have trees removed, pay the extra for the stump grinding. It's worth it. By late morning the stumps were gone and a landscaping crew was over digging trenches where the support beams would sit. Tuesday and Wednesday the utility locates were done to make sure the helical piles wouldn't hit any gas, water, electrical or phone lines. Once we knew we were in the clear, the piles were ready to go in! Wednesday afternoon I came home to the pile driver working away and Arctic Home Living hauling off the old, broken down hot tub that had been sitting on the deck since we purchased the home. It was music to my ears to see that raggedy thing go. I'd waited for this day for nearly a year and they made it look so easy. Two big men and a weird dolly was all it took. (P.S. AHL will remove your old tub for free when you purchase a spa from them, bonus!) AHL then took a look at the electricity that was currently in place to see if it was up to code and compatible with the new tub. There was power and it was compatible, but was not to code and the cord wasn't long enough since we were placing the new tub 10 feet away from where the old one sat.
Since this isn't our first rodeo with remodels we knew to budget with a contingency in place just for these scenarios, so no biggie. I mentioned the news of the electricity needing work to our contractor, Kaleb, of K&J Construction and Kaleb promptly contacted an electrician he works with regularly. The electrician was over Thursday morning first thing to check out the job and give us a bid on the work. We got to talking and decided adding a couple outlets to the deck sure would be useful, so he priced that into the bid also. Later that day SBS dropped off all the lumber and framing was to begin the next day! Except Friday came and framing did not. Construction work is notorious for taking longer than expected, jobs usually fall behind for various reasons, but this reason wasn't a typical one. The reason our framing didn't begin Friday was because our contractor's wife went into labor with their firstborn! This little boy made his debut just in time to wish his mama a happy first Mother's Day and we couldn't be happier for Kaleb and his little family. I remember my first Mother's Day four short years ago and am filled with joy knowing someone else is experiencing their own first, especially with a sweet, little newborn. I never thought I'd say this but I'm happy our deck project is behind schedule. I feel lucky that I was reminded in such a way to slow down and live in the moment, because in the blink of an eye it's gone. I'm really cherishing my time with my sweet family today and hope you all are doing the same. Happy Mother's Day, everyone!
