Deck repairs by Ms. Maintenance

You'll recall my feeble effort when the girls were here. The middle deck had a rotted piece. Izzy and I measured and cut a new board, but the board was 2" x 6", rather than 1" x 6" and I admit I didn't measure. It stuck up like a sore thumb. The hole was, at least, temporarily plugged. It was a fun project for a girl and her gramma!

Realizing the lower deck has a punky board, too, I finally took measurements, but not the 6" width. I was ready to buy 4" until the thought occurred to me. I realized I need 1" x 6" x 80" for the middle deck, and 1" x 6" x 9' for the lower deck. I haven't bought a lot of wood. The previous homeowner, a carpenter, had a ton under the bench in the garage taking up a lot of storage space. I lugged it all down to the driveway one day, with a sign on it, $20. Someone took it all away, with the plan that she would, instead, make me a woodpecker feeder. That was 3 years ago. No feeder. Screwed again.

We made it to Rona, where I'd picked up a few odds and sods, fly strips, a new screen cat door (yet to be installed), poison ivy spray and then we ordered the wood. I keep forgetting you have to go to the cash, order it up, take the receipt and go around to the back of the store where you can load up.

Back home, I began my project on a very hot day. First, my helpers and I removed the board. This required inspection. There is a chipmunk who unwisely hangs around. Feline friends disappeared when the hammering began. The final photo was our rain from Aug. 1st. A mere 2mm. So disappointing.



I also redid the cat door. Butch raccoon wrecked the screen. It wasn't worth salvaging.
That was a task and a half. I have the tools, but I'm not good at cutting. Mind you, I'm not picking up kitting any time soon, either. I can't cut, draw, sew or knit a straight line!



I inserted the cat door into a piece of recovered plywood. Then, I covered it with some birch bark I'd harvested from the forest.

Currently, the cats won't use it properly. The manufacturer suggests that you tape it open until they 'get it', which did work when we led them to it. It'll take some time. It's a heavy door for a 7 lb. cat, and requires a bit of pressure. Dorah, at 15 lbs.,  is at the upper limit for the size of door. She's not as frantic to get out at night as Daisy.

Dorah had a nap on the septic bed cover tile. She was exhausted from chipmunk watching. In fact, she is a sleepy girl!