I wanted to call this post “The Great Lake Deck Build” but it sounds like we built a deck on one of the great lakes, which we did not. Just at our lake. Christopher Lake. Our spot!
Brady and I were gifted yet another weekend to go up to the lake and get as much work done on our deck as we could possibly do! We approached actually a pretty good handful of people and asked for help, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t the weekend of availability! And thats ok! We’ve had SO much help along the way, we figured we’d go and do as much as we could possibly do on our own 🙂 So we left Friday morning and got there before lunch!
We got to our site and unpacked the van. The first order of business was getting the hand controls on the golf cart! Freedom!!!
We ripped around a little but and then got on the real work!
Brady counted the lumber package. It was all there!
We still needed the ground levelled before we could really begin building, so while we waited for the skid steer, we nailed on all the joist hangers. It might’ve been the most fun of the whole weekend, honestly. It was very relaxed, but productive. Felt like real quality time.
It was REALLY good to see Brady back at it, woodworking, busy.
Once the joist hangers were done, the campground manager showed up, ready to work! We discussed our plan, and he got to it!
Can you imagine if we had to dig it out by hand?? 😳 Oof. We were SO grateful that he was so willing to help us level the ground out a little bit. The goal was to build the deck pretty much flush with the ground, so Brady could wheel right on and off of it, and have a nice big chunk of level ground to feel stable on. Woot!
Once the digging was done, Brady and I hauled concrete blocks over and worked hard to level the first few footings. But it was gruelling, and we had done enough for the day. So we tidied up and called it.
Saturday! Brady and I managed to level and square up nine of the twelve footings, but in the afternoon, two lovely strong pairs of arms arrived at our site, offering to help. THANK GOODNESS!
We were already quite worn out for the day, and if you’ve ever built any kind of structure, you know getting the base of it square and level and perfect is easily the most miserable part. These men came and lifted a lot of that weight off of our shoulders, and together, we got the frame put together properly. One of them stayed and shovelled dirt for probably an hour and a half, to fill in some of the gaps underneath. While he did that, Brady cut joists and I put them into the hangers that we had already put together the day before. It was SO nice to already have that done!
By the end of Saturday, we felt SO good about our progress! It was far from done, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel!
We woke up to POURING rain the next morning! Which normally, I LOVE, but it was not ideal for the day we had planned!
In a last minute change of plans, a friend of ours went forward and called her dad, and asked him to help us. He recruited another family member – his nephew – to join him, and they happily drove out from Nipawin, to build with us. It was unbelievably humbling, and we were truly grateful! We have what seems like an immense blessing over us, where we are never without the help we need, and our help is always warm and willing, while being extremely productive. It is just unreal. Undeniably God-given.
So, they arrived around 9:30am and got to work!! They wanted to know Brady’s vision for the deck, and completely embraced our ideas without any pressure to change anything. They just dove in. They helped us get the awning out so we had some cover, and everyone got to it!!
I say again, it was SO good to see Brady working out there!
We worked HARD all morning! Once the blocking was attached and the edges were extra strong, perimeter boards went on, and the deck boards began. It went pretty fast after that!
The final product!!!
We are SO happy with our new lake deck!!! 😍 Isn’t it beautiful???
It still needs strong stairs, a landing, and a railing, but we’ll start that next weekend. That is lower pressure. This we can work with!!! This makes life at the lake SO much easier!! We are overwhelmed with gratefulness for the help we received, from the people who helped us build to the people who fed us to the people who cared for our children. We are beautifully cared for. It is clearer and clearer that God is in control, as if it was ever in question. He is working through His people.
As the rains continued to pour, it was time to pack up for home. It was pretty awesome to just back up to the deck and load up from there!
Cannot complain about that!!
There are still things to do. Work to complete. Things to build. Ground to level. A fire pit to move. But all of that can be picked at over the weeks to come. We have a good setup here. We are SO grateful, I say again.