They say you get what you pay for. That happened when we decided which of the wood decks designs we wanted. And made our plans for when the big event was going to take place.

My stepsons, 23 and 22 that year, came over the Memorial Day weekend to help their dad. Neither had any experience building decks, but they were willing, and it meant some of that great male bonding time with their father. They hadn’t gotten to have a lot of that in their younger years when he was overseas with the Army, before I met him.

The framing and floor structure went all right. The problem occurred when it came to laying the decking.. Somehow they miscalculated when laying the first plank. By the time they got to the last board, right at the top of the staircase where anyone would see it every time they came up to the deck, nothing was straight. But you know what? It was done and it was ours.