Anyone who reads this blog can tell that Duff and I took a small vacation from house projects over the summer--at least projects that ended up on the blog. There have been several not-so-fun but necessary repairs that have occurred and a little required yard work but nothing to write home about (and I didn't, either, did I, Mom?).
However, last weekend we took on a truly noteworthy task. Our patio is amazing. There is no doubting it. The patio is by far the largest room in our house, coming in at about 13 feet by 25 feet. However, our patio was also a safety hazard. Or at least, that's what the inspector told us when we bought the house. Not only does it slant towards our house (we ignore this minor default) but the railing around the patio was as tough as bulsa wood and just as sturdy. In other words, small people were not particularly safe on our patio due to the slight risk that they might try to lean on, or climb, our railings and fall to their...injury.
So last week, as we were on our way home from the dog show, Duff says, "Hey, you know we should replace the railing on the patio." I, of course, enthusiastically agreed. So, Saturday at 3 pm we began our project with me rushing onto the patio with my fantastic new camera and screaming "don't touch anything!" (well, you can't have before pictures if demo has already begun, right?!)
So, after the picture taking, we tore down the old railing. It was by far the easiest demo ever. It took about half an hour to an hour and resulted in zero injuries.
After taking down the railing, it was off to the hardware store for supplies. Then, after a whole day's work, at the end of which neither of our screw drivers had any battery left, we had these fabulous results.
Now, our patio is sturdy, fashionable and safe. And it has a handy-dandy door for corralling troublesome little puppies.
On a side note, does anyone else have a dog that steals their flowerpots?
One last time, a before:
and an after.
And the remains of the old railing...
All-in-all, a successful weekend project (and, if you were paying attention, you have an idea of what our next project will be). Riley, however, was a little exhausted.
