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Decks & Patios
Here's the Deck off the Kitchen, now -- much better than just the Frame, don't you agree??
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We got this gorgeous - and very comfortable -- Garden Furniture from Walmart -- they have fantastic products and, as always, great prices.
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Homes and Gardens® Haylea 7-Piece Patio Set
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3-Piece Cast Aluminum Bistro Set
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The great thing about ordering on-line for Big Items is that you don't have to worry about how on earth you're going to get it home -- it's delivered right to your door.
Did you know that Amazon has a zillion things other than just Books, now? They have a great selection of Outdoor Furniture and all sorts of Tools! They're connected to a lot of other Big-Name Stores, now, too, so definitely worth checking out. Keep in mind that when you Order On-line, you don't have to worry how you will get the thing to your place -- they'll deliver it directly to you.
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This is a cool new Auction feature from Home Depot that I think you'll get a
kick out of -- and a great deal, too. The Home Depot Auction.
Everyday, a new item goes up for auction, with bidding starting at one dollar!
<Will your bid be the
one? Visit Homedepot.ca for the Daily Auction!
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These Deer show up almost every night, and we really love to watch them. Even Tia (our wee dog!) likes to watch them. We thought she'd be a raving looney out there with the deer, but for some reason -- fear-based, no doubt! -- she just sits and watches them. The really hilarious thing is that when the deer see Tia, and she sees the Deer, they all stand perfectly still, staring at each other. Like, "If I don't move, nobody will see me..." Oh, ye of little brain! Sooo funny!
Oh, yeah. See the Rope at the Top of the Bannister? That's Tia's Rope -- 100' of Rope that is tied onto the Bannister Top at one end, and the other end has a hook to attach to her Collar. It's long enough that she can get a good run, and she can make her way in and out of the house with the Rope still attached.
There are no fences allowed in this area (except for some people....), so this was our solution. If you also live in a new area with this lovely new rule, maybe this solution will work for you, too.
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Here's where the new Deck will go off the Sunroom -- you can see the Beam that runs right under the Doorway and spans the length of the Sunroom (19 feet). That's the Deck that will house the 10 Man Hot Tub -- Greem Marble Color with a Cedar Base, which will be sunken into the Deck. We hope to get started on that as soon as we have a series of nice dry days!
This is the View from the Back Deck and the Sun Deck. Nice, eh??
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Early Framing! It's a Two Level Deck, with a Steel Frame built for the 10 Man Hot Tub. (Or a family of 4! Must be a little weird to see 10 grown men in one Hot Tub! Of course, I'm guessing that's a dream come true for more than a few folk! ha,ha!)
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The Crane arrived, yesterday, from High River Rentals and they Craned the Hot Tub onto it's new Steel and Wood Frame Platform. The Tub will sit below our Sight-line when we're sitting in the Sunroom -- we don't want to miss out on any bit of the spectacular View! The whole deck was designed to maintain the View from the Sunroom.
Here's Dwight lowering the Tub into place. Dwight works with Cranes all the time in his line of work (Mechanical Contractor), so he's very comfortable guiding an enormous object that could crush him... that's totally outside of my realm!
We can hardly wait to finish the Sun Deck and get into the Tub... it's sooo gorgeous out here -- it'll be nice to be able to sit out there in the mornings! It's so intensely dark out here, with no city lights (although we can see the Okotoks City Lights, but they're in the distance!), so there's an unobscured view of the Stars. It's sooo nice to lay about in the Hot Tub and gaze at the Stars! Later in the summer you can see the Northern Lights, too -- they are absolutely beautiful! Man, we are a couple of lucky schmucks!
Aidan was watching the Crane Guys from inside the Sunroom, and was beside himself with excitement! Soooo funny! Just at the point when they were lowering the Tub into place, Aidan shouts out, "Holy God, this rocks!" ha,ha,ha,ha! Who knows where he even heard that phrase!
It's taking a while to get this Deck up -- here's a side shot of the Hot Tub Steel Frame. Aidan and I went out to Paint it with the Anti-Rust Black Paint. Dwight came home and inspected my work (incredibly annoying in a spouse!), and didn't like the way Aidan had done his section. I pointed out that it was a Frame, Hidden from View, and completely (and I mean completely!) covered in paint. No chance of any rust ever getting through Aidan's section! Also, a small bit about Aidan being 3 ...
You might be able to see that the Tub itself is a Teal Color, so we're going to order a Teal Cover to go with it -- no point in doing that for a couple of weeks, yet. It'll take a while to finish Framing out the deck and then putting the Finishing Boards and the Railing around it. We'll carry the same Railing around to this deck that's on the Back Deck, for Continuity.
One thing we do every summer with whatever hot tub we have is to turn the heat down to 85 Degrees F., so you can use it to float around in on really hot days. It's pretty fast to heat it up to 92 Degrees F. if you're planning to go out at night -- only takes a few hours to increase the temperature.
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The new Patio will go right outside the Walk-Out Doors. (And, no, the house isn't pink -- just the way the sun's hitting it!) Dwight is going to build a Retaining Wall on the far Right hand side, just to prevent any mud from sliding into the Patio during a major storm. Dwight wants to put in a Cement Pad, then we'll Tile it with Slate Tile. Should look lovely!
This Retaining Wall went in so quickly, I hardly had a chance to take any pictures! The First photo is of the 3' Post Holes, which are necessary for any Deck or Retaining Wall, particularly if you want it to stay put and level!
The dirt will be pushed in behind the Retaining Wall, then we'll shave a little more off the top of the hill. There's always more dirt to be moved!
Our plan for this Walk-Out Patio has changed -- now we are moving in the direction of a 'Wilderness Park' Theme. That would keep the area looking very natural, in keeping with the Land, and would be relatively simple to put together.
There's a Waterfall going in at the top of the hill just past the Retaining Wall. Dwight has some idea of making the Waterfall start from the Top Sun Deck, but I'm not sure about that -- still a little figuring to do!
I've started working on the Rock Garden that will be right beside the Waterfall. Takes a while to get this stuff done!
Our new plan is to use a combination of Colored Rocks, Bark Mulch, Evergreens, Large Potted Plants and some Park Benches to create our little 'Wilderness Retreat'. Should be very pretty and restful by the time we're done!
We love to sit around an Open Fire on a warm summer night, so we'll build a Stone Fire Pit just beyond the Patio -- about 10 feet away for safety.
Well, this has changed, too. We've started to build a 'Play Park' for Aidan and Cara off the Kitchen Deck, and it happens to be in between us and our new neighbors (they're building their own house, right now) -- Peter Theisen and his family. They own Country Rose Homes. I think we'll put the Fire Pit in there, that way we can all go out there and enjoy the fire.
The 'Play Park' will need quite a few Trees, too, and some more Benches, then it will look really nice.
The Stars are so beautiful out here (no city lights), and during the summer months you can see the Aurora Borealis. Must go buy some comfy Lounge Chairs so we can gaze at the Sky without hurting our necks! ha,ha!
Here's a neat site I happened across a while ago that you might like to check out -- www.auroradude.com -- gorgeous pictures.
Carpenters
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Trevor is our favorite Carpenter -- he's here right now, doing some Trim Work!
Decks, Cabinetry, Trim Work (Casing, Baseboards, Crown Molding, etc.), Garages, Bars ,Islands... he's a very talented Finishing Carpenter. Drop me a line and I'll 'Hook you up'!
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