My 76 year old aunt had a terrible deck that someone built for her and then she paid someone to build a cover for it. She could not afford a railing. She walks with a cane and I was afraid she would fall off the edge. She has always been so good to me and I have always wanted to give back to her but she is very proud. My 83 year old dad (her brother) and I decided to add a railing and spiff it up for her as a surprise when she went to Arizona to go see her daughter. It took us 2 weekends (5 days). When she came home, she was so thrilled. I also built her a potting bench a month earlier in preparation for the deckover. We still need to go back and fix the cover and paint it white to match the railing. We had to work with what she had and we were able to reuse lumber from a neighbor's deck remodel. We made sure we used an oil base primer and paint so it will last. We added a gutter, plant hangers and new furniture and flowers.
My 76 year old aunt had a terrible deck that someone built for her and then she paid someone to build a cover for it. She could not afford a railing. She walks with a cane and I was afraid she would fall off the edge. She has always been so good to me and I have always wanted to give back to her but she is very proud. My 83 year old dad (her brother) and I decided to add a railing and spiff it up for her as a surprise when she went to Arizona to go see her daughter. It took us 2 weekends (5 days). When she came home, she was so thrilled. I also built her a potting bench a month earlier in preparation for the deckover. We still need to go back and fix the cover and paint it white to match the railing. We had to work with what she had and we were able to reuse lumber from a neighbor's deck remodel. We made sure we used an oil base primer and paint so it will last. We added a gutter, plant hangers and new furniture and flowers.
