Deck boards have been installed and we finally have a usable deck

If I am going to be completely honest, this deck project took a lot longer than I really wanted it to.  Even though it took a lot longer than I wanted, we finally have a deck.

One of the primary reasons was the lack of skills when it comes to carpentry in general and building something significant such as a deck.  Tasks that would have been second nature to an experienced carpenter took me a long time, I wanted to make sure that I was doing things right.  There is an old saying about measuring twice and cutting once.  I actually measured 4 or 5 times, cut once, and often messed that up so I would start over again.

While weather was also a contributing factor in the delay in getting this project completed, the main reason was that I was paying for this as I went and a few times I needed to save up for a few months to have the money to buy the supplies that I needed.

The project is not done, I still need to build a small covered storage area where you see the wall framed in the above picture, and I am going to build an L shaped counter / food prep area where you see the grill sitting, but those will happen later this spring.  For now we have a usable deck, and plan on enjoying it as much as possible.