bensrib: The deck

I might have mentioned recently that the guys—Ben and Mansquared—have been rebuilding the deck. It's the same shape, but it was rotting under our feet. Also, the original deck was built with nails rather than screws, and since the boards were warping, the nails were backing out, so you couldn't walk out there in bare feet without stepping on a nail head sticking up a half inch. So they're replacing all the decking and railings. Of course the week they have available to do this is the hottest week of the summer, but that hasn't stopped them. My job has been to keep them in ice water and Gatorade and sweet tea.

Here they are working on the main part.

That was yesterday. They finished all of that and left it with no rails. We've been trying to keep Pete off it, since we're not convinced he's smart enough not to run right off the edge, and it's a long way down.

Ben mentioned at one point that he wanted to build benches on two sides, and I kind of ignored it, figuring he knows what he's doing and it will look good no matter what he does. So this morning they were out there measuring and discussing and cutting and driving screws while I was distracted putting 50 pounds of squash and zucchini in the freezer. It got up to 107° today, but they kept at it.

When they came in, Ben told me to come out and take a look.