Using Pinterest to plan our new swimming pool deck

While we were removing the existing pool, I created a Pin Board in Pinterest so that Kay and I could share ideas about the deck designs we liked. During this time, everything was fair game. We would see a particular deck or even a particular feature and we would send it to our shared Pinboard. Kay and I created a shared Pinterest board with swimming pool deck ideas that we liked. This went on for several weeks and we would talk about what we liked and didn't like over our morning coffee. Pinterest was a great way to curate ideas and narrow down our design plans. We tagged deck … Continue reading...

Time to replace our old swimming pool and deck

Kay and I have lived in our current home for over 25 years. Right after we moved in, we installed an above-ground swimming pool and hired a contractor to build a deck around the pool. Fast forward two decades and it was time to replace our pool. We thought about an in-ground pool but decided the cost was prohibitive and we had been really pleased with the longevity and usefulness of our previous pool, so we decided to simply replace our existing pool with one just like it - a 28' round Doughboy pool from Leisure Time Pools and Spa's in OKC. Our prior Doughboy pool gave us a solid 20 years … Continue reading...

Adding a Deck – Turning a Liability into an Asset

Once we had the substructure in place we installed the decking. This went fairly quickly. Finishing the railing and trim took a bit longer.

How do you turn a liability - a small back yard - into an asset? Although some buyers prefer no back yard or as little yard as possible, the vast majority of home buyers, especially those looking to purchase in the suburbs, want a home with a back yard big enough so kids can have room to play. In 2015 our son Adam and daughter-in-law Cheri decided they wanted to move to a bigger home. Four kids in a 1,200 square foot home makes for cramped living conditions. Our daughter-in-law had purchased her current home when she was single with only one child. Because she had to care for the home … Continue reading...