My big project for the summer was tearing down my old deck, which was getting rotten, and building a new one. I am almost done with the new one, which is pictured above. The photo below shows the old deck as I was demolishing it. You can see that it really needed replacing.
While I enjoyed building, it sure becomes a frustrating task for me. Whenever I am in the midst of a construction project, I always loose sleep. I wake up in the middle of the night, then start thinking about what is the best way to construct certain things, which causes my mind to run away with all of the possibilities and I can’t get back to sleep.
The actual building is also frustrating. I always encounter unexpected problems and obstacles and strain my brain trying to figure out how to deal with them. It seems like every board has to be custom cut, because of the way things work out.
I measure a board, walk up to the shop to cut it, carry it back down to fit into place, then see it is still too long, so carry it back up to the shop and shave a bit more off of the end. I carry it back to the deck and discover it is still too long, so carry it back to the shop and shave a bit more off of the board. Back to the deck I carry it only to find that the board I just cut is now a bit too short.
All this back and forth has actually worn a path in my lawn.
I have a pair of reading glasses and a pencil in the shop and another pair of glasses and a pencil at the deck. I always inadvertently stick the glasses or pencil in my pocket, then when I return to cut a board in the shop, discover I have carried the glasses or pencil away and have to walk back to the deck to get it.
These days when building, screws are used instead of nails. Here in Canada, we not only have Phillip-head screws, and star-head screws, but also have Robertson-head screws. The different screws I used for the deck each use a different screwdriver. I have a “driver” drill with changeable bits to drive in the screws, but I am forever holding a board in place to screw into another board, reach for the driver only to discover the wrong bit is in it, so I have to stop everything, get up and find the right bit before I can proceed.
Looking back at all those frustrating things, it really feels like an accomplishment to finally get the deck done, and it really is nice to check a major thing off of my “To Do” list.
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