 Removing the Old Deck. Dismantling the old deck was not a difficult job. |
 Rotten Wood. The old deck was rotting away. The reason we took it down was because it had already been patched a couple of years ago, and would have become unsafe at some point. The bricks in this picture acted as additional supports for the old joists. |
 Scrap Lumber. This is the pile that once was our back deck. |
 In With the New. The new deck began with landscaping cloth, new supports, and beams. The lndscaping cloth was really great, stopping growth from coming up through the deck once it was done, but also providing a clean, mud-free work area while building it. |
 Checking Spacing. Michael was casual about measuring distances on the new deck. He used a new joist to measure spacing between beams. |
 Heavy Beams. A 4" x 8" x 20' beam weighs a lot. Fortunately, Michael only needed to lift one end at a time. |
 Placing Beam on Support. Each 20' beam rests on four supports. |
 Beams in Place. Levelling the supports and placing the beams was the first phase of the deck-building project. |