Dumb and Dumber Construction

The last deck I built was in 1996. I planned on taking 4 weeks and 800 dollars to build it. A short 12 months later it was done! Good thing it was for a very important customer who had the patience only a mother could have. The important thing is that nobody was injured and the deck is still standing today.

Three weeks ago I got sucked into designing and helping build a deck in Denver for my friend Doug. Actually, I wasn't going to let a project like that go down without jumping in and designing the most complicated deck possible. Ten years of not building decks has taken it's toll on my skills, but so far injuries have been minor and progress has been good. Plus, I've mastered the art of framing and playing fetch with Molly at the same time.

Frame from the North Side

Chris (another pilot/ex-deck builder) got sucked into the project too and has brought with him much needed experience and expertise. Between the three of us we have managed to solve every issue of my complicated design.

Frame from the East Side

I made this sign to remind everyone why we've spent hours trying to figure the simplest things out, why I cut through the chord on the circular saw, and why I shot my hand (or Doug, almost) with the nail gun.

Written in Blood after Slicing my Hand Open


The framing, footers, and electrical are done and my goal is to have the decking done by Sunday. I'm going to layout a herring bone on each level. When it's done it should look this one on my Mom's deck.

Our goal is to have the job completely finished for the Halloween Party on the 28th of October.