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| May in Texas is a great time of year, the weather is usually very pleasant and the days are stretching out to their summer time lengths. The last two weekends were spent working on a cover for the wood platform we have in the back yard. We had a hot tub here at one time but it is long gone and a deck is now there. |
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| Last summer I built the wood deck and we purchased a table and chairs for it. You might ask...where are the table and chairs? More on that later... This May we have had our share of rain making up for the drought conditions we were experiencing. Another fact about Texas in May is that it is a precursor for hot sunny days of June, July and August that are right around the corner. We decided that the deck needed some protection from the rain and some much needed shade to allow us to enjoy it when those hot dog days of summer come our way. |
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| I decided to use a simple gable design and top it with V groove tin. After approval from the HOA, very necessary step, it was time to build. I was able to put the posts in by myself, of course that's after digging four large holes to place anchors for the posts. Jared come over and helped me get the framing done and the tin on top. The framing was fairly easy and I really appreciated Jared's help. The tin was the frustrating part, trying to punch pointy screws, recommended by the tin manufacturer, through the tin while standing on the ladder and reaching over 2 feet over the sheet is not easy. I don't know why they don't provide self taping screws! Fortunately, Jared came up with a creative way to mount the top piece as we put up the side panels so that we didn't have to climb on top to finish it up! Mike can thank Jared for that idea because he probably would have done that job! |
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| The end result was quite pleasing, not bad for two weekends worth of work. I still have some wiring to do for lights and a ceiling fan, that's why the ladder is still out. Debi is already planning some special party lights for it. Now back to the table we purchase for this area. Well...as the cover was going up, Debi started saying things like" maybe we should put the gliders out here". So as the project was completed it was decided that the table and chairs would go on the patio attached to the house and the gliders would come out here. |
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| The Patio was cleared off, swept and power washed in preparation for the new furniture. I had these louvered doors that were purchased for another project Debi had in mind but the decision was made to use them out here. Now they now provide great shade in the late afternoon. After all the scrubbing the area was ready for the furniture. |
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| While it was still drying, the table was brought up and we actually had lunch out here. It has become a very pleasant area that we really enjoy. I will add another picture later with the full effect of the table and all of the chairs. Now I can kick back, relax and enjoy the rest of the summer...wrong! Several more projects in the works...Stay tuned! |
