Upstate Projects: New Deck for an Old House
Fallen tree limbs jump-starting the demo
Pretty early into owning my house upstate, I started thinking about re-doing the deck one day. It was fine, but a little lack-luster. Had been done using crap wood and painted brown ... Well, the very tall pine trees next to the deck must have heard my musings, because they decided to drop some limbs onto the deck railing from 50' up during a storm in the spring of 2018.
The demo had begun.
The Plan
The project on the outside / back of the house will take on a couple of phases over the next several months:
1. Replace awful deck boards with beautiful cedar, relocate stairs, paint base black
2. Replace railing with low-profile metal / cable concept to maximize space on the deck and view of the yard
3. Replace rotten sliding doors with dual french doors
4. Reno adjacent sunroom to be less terrifying / a place you want to hangout!
5. Install pea-gravel patio for grill / firepit
6. Extend the deck an extra 4' to the end of the house to prep for major kitchen dream
Super Easy!
The Inspiration
Thinking forward to when I take on painting / loving up the exterior of the entire house, I started poking around the interwebs for some reference. Scribner's Lodge in Upstate NY was a huge inspiration point here - especially with the contrast between the black stained building exterior with the natural wood decking.
The goal was really to create a beautiful space that felt seamlessly integrated into the backyard (which to the eye goes on forever away from the house). I needed it to feel welcoming equally to a big group of people eating dinner and a few friends hanging out at night.
The Progress
Like most DIY projects, this one has taken more time and money than I'd anticipated. After a full summer at it, here's where we've landed:
Decking: New cedar decking is in and looking amazing. We installed it ourselves (my parents and I over Memorial Day Weekend) and used this amazing Camo screw system to screw the boards in on the edge faces rather than through the top. It looks (and feels) so great! We also moved the stairs to the center so everything is moving out into the yard, and painted the base black to accomplish that black-on-raw wood look I loved so much from Scribner's.
Furniture: Turns out, outdoor furniture is both ugly and really expensive! I found a lovely lounge set from the Project62 line at Target, but getting a dining table sorted was proving really difficult. So, I decided to make one. I found a pattern online, adapted it to the length I wanted, and consulted my expert woodworker (my dad). I'll post the full details, but it wasn't too difficult to make (and probably cost $100 for an 8' table and matching bench). Still need to stain it black, but it's functional!
Railing: Another DIY moment. I knew I wanted as low-profile of a railing as possible so the view into the backyard / forrest behind would be unimpeded. I also knew that most mass-market railings from your Lowe's-type establishments are horrifically ugly, mount to the top of the deck (not my new beautiful cedar!), and did I mention they're really ugly? So I got to searching for alternatives.
I found this amazing company way upstate (Keuka Studios) that does custom metal /cable railings that are really modern and unassuming. Upon a bit more investigation, they really only do custom work, draw up their own architectural plans for your railing (which I'm capable of doing myself) ... the dollar signs were everywhere, so I looked for alternatives.
Turns out even the DIY kits of cable railings are in the many-thousands-of-dollars ballpark, which was just more than I wanted to spend on this endeavor. Thankfully, my head craftsman (my dad) worked out how to source similar materials and make the pieces to create a really lovely DIY metal / cable railing!
Doors: This was the major investment. The existing sliding doors had all but rotted off their frames due to gutter neglect by the previous owner, so they had to go. I replaced them with fiberglass french doors from Lowe's (two sets) painted black (Sherwin Tricorn Black), which look amazing.
We did not DIY the install, which is a major gratitude moment. The guys who came to do the work discovered the entire rim joist under the doors had also rotted away, so the deck was being held to the house with hopes and dreams and the doors were being supported by basically nothing. Gulp. A pricey day to replace the joist and center post (which was also rotten) means security in my sunroom not collapsing in on itself anytime soon.
Project Cost Rundown:
Decking: $1400 wood, $400 screws, lots of labor (free)
Furniture: $500 lounge set (Target), $250 dining chairs / cushions, $100 table / bench materials
Railing: $1000 materials, lots and lots of labor (free)
Doors: $5000 total ($3k Doors, $1k initial install estimate, $1k overage for beam)
What's Next
We've got some finishing work to do on the railing and table, but phase 1 is mostly done. The next phase will include the sunroom, pea gravel patio, and extension to the end of the house, as well as some more decorative / privacy elements to make it feel really awesome out there.
Stay tuned!
x