The New Deck and Outdoor Kitchen

In 2005 we decided to take the big leap of faith by knocking down the rickety old backyard deck and put in a bigger and better one. This was a big undertaking. Most of the demolition was taken on by our son Daniel, who took pleasure in smashing up the old deck. He was almost 13 at the time and I was surprised at his strength and Randy was thrilled by his strength. He now had a son who could help with heavy lifting.

The old deck was in bad shape. Apparently there were potted plants place on it without the deck actually being treated. It was rotting, splintered and you never dared to lean on the rail or you may go over the deck. Plus it was tiny, almost as if it were an afterthought. –Let’s just throw up a deck, without considering the function. This needed to change. We needed to expand it beyond the bay window, and under the kitchen, let’s pour a slab of concrete and put in a spa. This should flatten the entertaining space and make the yard much more functional. Only I didn’t want any more hand rails. That to me was something that would require upkeep. –Painting! Instead let’s put in cabinets and a counter top to span where the railing would go. Yes. Randy has agreed.

Do you see how short the deck is? Under the bay window is a big hole.

We bought composite decking at Lowes and had them deliver all the necessary materials to our home. Now this is where I wish I had taken more pictures. I cannot seem to find any. If I come across some later I will insert them. But here are the results.

We had some left over counter top and we stared at it for a few years trying to figure out what to do with it. When Randy was turning 50 I wanted to have a big party for him so I decided we needed to make a Kitchen Island out of the leftover piece of granite. We went to Ikea and purchased a stainless steel kitchen island without a top. Our granite fit perfectly.

You can see the kitchen island here. This is actually for McKenna's 3rd Birthday party. We used it for extra seating.

We also purchased an automatic remote controlled Sunsetter awning for above the deck for those hot sunny days. It’s nice to be able to retract it on cooler days when your want to feel the warmth of the sun.

We added an extra portable awning for this party with another table and some more seating. You can also see where we placed the spa at the bottom of the picture. It sits lower than the deck for easy access.

Papa is helping McKenna with her ballet leg. She wants to be an Auburn Mermaid just like her mommy.

This kitchen is perfect for big get-togethers. There is so much counter space and the grill has 2 burners and an oven. Later we purchased a smoke vault for smoking large quantities of meat to add to our outdoor kitchen. Slowly we have added some furniture and made it an extension of our home.

It also has drastically changed the view from the inside of our house, especially the bay window, where before the deck stopped short of the bay window and you looked down at a giant hole.