The deck project

The house in Crofton had a covered deck facing north onto the street and covered by a large wisteria bush that had wound its way through the roof, gutter, rails and decking. Portions of the deck and railing were rotted and the roof was also damaged near the eaves and blocked much of the light to the living room.

Deck is obscured by wisteria and in rough shape. The previous owners place a loose board over the rotted decking to stop viewers from falling through.

My initial inclination was to remove the deck entirely and I planned a deck removal party with my friend Ian who helped me on a similarly destructive project a few years back. However I had a change of heart, realizing that there was no other suitable outdoor space accessible by a doorway that could be used for barbequing or just sitting out. I thought instead I would repair the decking, replace the railings and tear down the old roof. I checked the substructure and found much of it was still in reasonable shape although it would need additional supporting posts. 

When Ian arrived, he convinced me to keep the roof because he had a similar covered area at his house and found it very useful in our damp climate.

Deck railing mostly removed, roof cut back, and new decking boards in place. The original roof came right to the edge of the deck

We ended up tearing off the rotted railing and cutting the roofline back so that it was in line with the house roof to open things up a bit. We replaced some rotted deck boards and then retired to the local pub for a self congratulatory meal. 

The old lattice was in rough shape and missing entirely on the other side

The next step was to remove the old lattice from the front, and build a new railing using the same type of roofing panels I had put on the garage as infill. 

All old railings and lattice removed - new deck rails and posts in place

New railing infill completed - still need to fix those supporting posts

View from the living room. The back of the roofing panels used for infill is off-white

I used the same type of ranch board I had used on the garage to fill where the lattice had been and trimmed it with 1 by 6 pine.  I also replaced the rotted front supporting beam with a piece of cedar that was cut from a tree on our property a couple of years ago, and replaced some dubious support posts.

New supporting beam across the front, new corner post, and other posts mounted on concrete pads

Infill in place under the deck

I had to wait for good weather to paint the infill and to clean up, repair, and paint the existing stair railing as well as patch and paint the concrete. I also removed the old roofing and replaced it with new clear PVC roofing and added a new gutter that runs off into the city storm sewer.

Concrete patched and primed, stair railings cleaned and partly primed before it rained again

The way it looks now - Painted the same green and brown as the garage. The house stucco is also painted green. I will paint the window trim brown too eventually

To pretty up the entrance way, I found someone on Facebook marketplace selling a nice replacement half moon window. This saved replacing the door as the current window was broken and fogging up.

New door window - kind of Art Deco ish so in keeping with the house