We actualy began building the deck February 24, 2001. Of course, that was only the first level.

The first step was to have all of the lumber delivered, and there was a lot of it! Since the lumber took up most of the driveway, we parked on the lower third for the next two months.

The first work Chris did was the ledger boards and getting the 16 foot 6X6 posts up. Fortunately, Mike selflessly devoted another weekend to helping us (and yes, Niki was out there also!).

This work continued for a couple weeks due to weather delays.

Finally we were able to get the joists in place, along with supports between them, and start decking. Here the fun began as Niki learned how to use a drill (and yes, both of us survived without Chris losing his patience too much!).

The girls were allowed to explore the deck briefly before we completed the rails.

Almost complete! Blizzard was glad to have her perch back!

A view of the first level of the deck from the backyard.

A finishing touch was adding upper boards, which gave Niki a place to hang flowers.
This is the beginning of the process.

Deck construction continues