The Simpson Blog

Continuing the theme of making the backyard better by saving it from the ravaging effects of gravity and time, we visit the lower deck in the backyard. The Jack-All (pictured) and my dad's wisdom saved the day once again. Project: Jacking up the deck , originally uploaded by BigAssSuperBlog . Continuing the theme of making the backyard better by saving it from the ravaging effects of gravity and time, we visit the lower deck in the backyard. The Jack-All (pictured) and my dad's wisdom saved the day once again. It was easy to see that the deck had sunk: the dimtwits who owned the home before us stained it in a hurry and left some smears of stain on the vinyl siding. The deck had an obvious dip as it came toward the edge of the house. At its furthest edge, it was several inches below where it should've been. The problem was not entirely obvious -- the deck was so low to the ground that we could not even see what it was supposed to be sitting on.

The shed in our back yard is big and sturdy, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the stairs heading to the upper deck. The posts holding up the deck have sunk into the earth over the years, with the front one sinking further than the back one. The deck looks crooked and decrepit - the stairs end up cockeyed and wobbly. It makes the deck look like a rickety shack by association. The obvious solution is to fix it, right? Well, fixing a sinking deck is not an easy chore for someone without handyman skills or tools. Lucky for me, my dad came for a visit.