Demolition Guy

Ripping up parts of your house with a crowbar is both frightening and enlightening. I have to pull up part of our back deck, since the boards are rotting. The previous owner, who had installed the deck, had not left any gaps in the board to allow for drainage. The first few boards next to the sliding door have started to crack and sag. The fear is that I will crack a window or dent the wrong board when swinging the axe or prybar. The enlightenment is seeing how it was all put together, and deciding how to improve things so the deck won't die again.

Some of the boards I could step on, at the end next to the house, and get them to pop and sag. I decided to replace the entire length of each damaged board. I was up to five boards (ten feet by two by six) before they started to seem solid. I was able to drive the chisel end of the prybar through each board without too much effort.

Did I mention that its one of the hottest evenings in the year? I was able to rip two boards out before I got could no longer see, due to a lack of light and too much sweat in my eyes. I'll continue Thursday night.