No More Shed

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Day One of deconstruction of the shed

When I purchased The Bungalow, I loved everything about it - except the storage shed that was - at some point in its history - added to the back of the house.

The shed was in bad shape. It leaked when it rained; it had rotted wood on the floor and walls, and it only had enough space in it to hold a water heater, a mop and a broom and a few beach toys.

To get into the backyard, one had to walk through the shed and take several concrete steps down to the lawn. The steps, by the way, had no safety railing. I worried all the time about a less-than-careful guest falling down the steps and suffering serious injury.

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So, from the get-go, my plan was to have the shed taken down and a good-size wood deck put in. Happy to report, my dream project became a reality this week.

De-construction of the shed and construction of the deck took two hard-working people about five very long days.

Once the work was (almost) completed, it took me only five minutes to move a couple of Adirondeck chairs and a side table off the lawn and position them up there. And, only another five minutes to start planning a gathering of friends to show off the deck!

Here, the deck is almost finished. Just needs the latticework added to its bottom to hide those ugly, unmovable concrete steps!

Here, the deck is almost finished. Just needs the latticework added to its bottom to hide those ugly, unmovable concrete steps!

Stepping It Up

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When I purchased The Bungalow, the front steps were in serious need of improvement. It took me a year to decide exactly what could be done to make them look better. Finally, I opted to have all of the steps painted white and then have wooden planks …

When I purchased The Bungalow, the front steps were in serious need of improvement. It took me a year to decide exactly what could be done to make them look better. Finally, I opted to have all of the steps painted white and then have wooden planks installed on the top of them. Eventually, the wood will weather and match the original weathered floorboards on the porch. I’m looking forward to seeing that.

Step One: Paint the Steps Xavier, a professional painter and a neighbor of mine, agreed to help me with the steps. We both thought painting the steps bright white, like the railings on the front porch, would be a good idea.

Step One: Paint the Steps
Xavier, a professional painter and a neighbor of mine, agreed to help me with the steps. We both thought painting the steps bright white, like the railings on the front porch, would be a good idea.

When Xavier finished painting the steps, we both agreed; having all the steps painted the same color was an improvement. But, we also agreed the bright white was a little overpowering.

When Xavier finished painting the steps, we both agreed; having all the steps painted the same color was an improvement. But, we also agreed the bright white was a little overpowering.

Step Two: Installing Wood As soon as the crew showed up and started putting the wooden planks on top of the concrete steps, I knew this was a home improvement I would love and long appreciate.

Step Two: Installing Wood
As soon as the crew showed up and started putting the wooden planks on top of the concrete steps, I knew this was a home improvement I would love and long appreciate.

All Done The installation of the wood planks on the steps only took a couple of hours, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Small project, huge improvement.

All Done
The installation of the wood planks on the steps only took a couple of hours, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Small project, huge improvement.