4th of July

It was an unconventional 4th of July. Just mainly a day of working on the deck. I got up around 9 AM, had breakfast, and then got to work.

I sawed off the excess from the tops of the posts (with a handsaw, I couldn't quiet get the recipriating saw around them), added the end beams, and put in all of the screws that were missing. In the picture below, I am in the process of installing the end beams.


After that, I cooled down in our air-conditioned garage, and cut the planks to length, I got them up on the framing, but was then very tired, hot, and thirst, so I went in for a drink and lunch.
After lunch, Meggie helped me straigten the planks, and then I began the tedious process of screwing them all in.



I continued this until I ran out of screws. Plus, there was a very mean-sounding thunderstorm on the way, so I packed up my tools, and went inside to shower and relax. Meggie, Max, and I went for a swim. Afterwards, I was just about to start dinner when my parents and my brother, Nick, stopped over to check out the deck.

My dad took a good look at the deck, and I do have to make a few changes. First off, I didn't know there was a face up/down for the planks, and some of them have to be turned around. Also, in a lot of places, I used screws that were too long, and they are sticking out through the side of the deck, so I have to replace them with smaller screws. That will be tomorrow's plan, as well as figuring out the concrete pad for the bottom of the steps.

We offered dinner to my parents and brother, and threw on a few extra burgers. It was nice to have them over, considering it is Independence day. We still had a BBQ, though it was small. After dinner, we tried to think of a new name for Nick's band. They lost a member, and their style has changed since they started playing, so they are changing their name. Some amusing suggestions were flying around: "Purple Dishwasher" "Ultra-Thon," or my favorite "Sliding Pebble" (Dad's own version of "Rolling Stones"). I jokingly suggested "Medium Heat," after looking at our stove, but my brother like it, oddly enough.

Eventually they left, and I watched a very boring episode of Star Trek: TNG, and then did bills and "money stuff." And that was my 4th of July.