Louie

 Last Wednesday, the support beam of my deck gave way - it was completely eaten out on the inside by deck beetles, or something! This comes from using untreated lumber outdoors.

 We knew the deck would need to come down sooner or later, and it has decided upon sooner.

 The guys came over and shored it up so we can get out on it and remove the railings and decking.

I have gotten the railings down, and am working on the decking. It needs to be pried up one nail at a time, so I intend to take my time and pick away at it. At least it is safe enough now so that it won't suddenly collapse against the house. I am not going to rebuild this part, although I will keep the deck that is around the corner of the house, since that's where the door and stairs are.

Well, it's later in the afternoon, and I've removed almost all of the decking. That's all I can do until one of the guys comes with a saw to cut off the joists, then we'll need to figure out how to get rid of the concrete footings under the posts. But, feels good to have one more step out of the way! Except I can already feel my arm muscles will be a bit sore tomorrow, from all the prying and tossing.

And now it's gone!