Under Construction Once Again

The deck off the Loft is finally being built after several delays!
As I write this it is pouring with rain which has once again halted construction.  However, my garden desperately needed the rain and with a little luck, this project will be finished by the end of June - fingers crossed here!  My guests should experience little disruption as the work will be done during the middle of the day, at the rear of the house and in our, or should I say my dog Gromet's, private yard.  The contractor is very neat and tidy so there should be no spillage over into the guest garden.
Actually this was one of the first projects I planned after buying the house but it quickly went to the bottom of the list as we tackled more pressing and important renovations.  The only access to the loft was through the garage or upper floor of the B and B.  The old deck - small and with no stairs to the outside garden was useless so naturally I am excited about having this new access.   After watching my contractor dig four holes, each 4 ft deep for the supporting posts in 30 degree heat no less, I was glad that this was one project I would not be attempting myself.

5 post holes each 1 ft wide by 4ft deep were dug

Removing the old deck revealed a common problem - water damage to the outside of the house.  I say a common problem since I have seen this many times on home renovation shows.  

The dark patches show rotten wood  which was damaged by water with no where to go but behind the siding.

Even though this deck had been in place less than 10 years, there were numerous gaps for water to leak in behind the deck.  Luckily it was caught before major damage was done to the door frame.

Fixing this problem set us back a couple of days as more of the siding needed to be removed, the rotten wood cut out and replaced along with the insulation behind it.  With lots of caulking and a waterproof wrap (blueskin) applied to the wall, the new deck was ready to be tied into the house.

 Construction was hampered, not be rain this time but by a  heat wave that continued for 3 days with temperatures in the mid 30s and humidex readings of 41 C.   Finally, temperatures returned to seasonal after the supporting posts were put in place. 

With no interruptions in work, the deck floor and stairs will be completed in another week.
July 8 - Okay so my last post was somewhat optimistic since we are now into week 4 of the construction process.   We've now added a trellis at the bottom of the stairs where the white picket fence use to be and this alone took 2 days to complete but I'm very happy with the look.  The glass panels and railings are suppose to be inserted tomorrow and this will make the deck fully functional.  Luckily the weather has been on our side - still somewhat hot but no rain.

July 16 - Finished at last!  I am very happy we decided to splurge for the glass railings.  It makes the deck look very expensive, much lighter against the house and the view of the garden is spectacular.  This was well worth the wait.

Trellis adds interest to stairs going up to the deck.

View of garden from deck

And the best part is the clothes line extending from the corner of the deck to the pine tree.  With my washing machine located in the loft, I don't have to carry the laundry down into the yard to hang it and I can hang at least 3 sets of sheets at a time - hooray!