The Deck

The very large deck at our lake house connects the house, the garage, and guest house, and sits about two stories off the ground. From that platform, there is another set of steps to take you higher, for a large, expansive view of the lake. The deck is built around a Red Oak, and two White Oak trees, with a cut out in the deck for one of the oaks.

I can’t remember the square footage – but it took us 10 gallons of sealant to cover the entire deck. The leaves of the oaks create a shelter of shade, that give you the impression, as you look out onto the water, that you are sitting in a giant sized Mark Twain tree house. But, like everything else about this lake house, it has been sorely neglected. It took us 5 days of work to restore it to its natural beauty. First – my husband spent 3 days power washing the wood. Here’s a before and after.

And then, comes the sealant. Of course the kids help. Just like the garage.

We even got some help from my brother for this project.

Did you happen to notice all those rails?

They go for what seems like forever. Each and every slat must be covered in protectant.

This must be the definition of tedious.

This project didn’t hold the attention of the little ones for very long. They were soon out in the water. Then, the second oldest disappeared. And all that was left was the oldest, Mom and Dad and my brother.

I was surprised that my oldest son was able to stick with it for the three hours we worked that day – on some of the most tedious work of the lake house yet. When it was over, I complemented my son on his great work. The son left the project to swim, said, “Yep, I couldn’t have done it better myself.”

And thank goodness I had the foresight to cover some ribs in BBQ sauce and stick them in the oven, along with some baked potatoes.

More lake house posts, here.