How to DIY a cheap deck part 1/3

We’re in deck building mode. We’ve been scouring Craigslist for weeks and finding ads for people tearing down their old decks. We found two awesome ads where they were tearing down their old decks (only 5 years old) and replacing it with composite decking. Score for us. The first guy we picked up the wood from, we got about eighty 12 to 16 foot pieces for $80.00. The next guy wanted $50.00 for his 16×16 lot of decking material, 4×4 posts and railings and we offered 25.00 and he took it. Last year we also came across someone who was just giving their deck wood away for free if we would come load it up and take it away.

Now, putting in a deck this way definitely isn’t for everyone. Instead of having someone watch our kids so we can go out to eat, our date nights consist of loading up the trailer and going to get deck wood. Then we spent naps on the weekend ripping nails out of the wood. The guy giving away the first deck actually had the same plan as us. He was going to rip out the nails and use the wood for another deck on the other side of his house. He told us after a few hours of trying to get the nails out of the first piece of wood he gave up. If only he had known our trick. If you put a piece of wood under your hammer or crowbar then it gives you just enough leverage to easily take out the nail. We cranked through those nails in under an hour. Now, they’re sitting in our yard waiting to be used.

We’ll see how it goes. We’re sure using older wood with warps and dings isn’t going to be the easiest. But, we still have a feeling that it’s going to look really unique and worth all this effort. Stay tuned for our progress…

check out DIY Deck Part 2/3