The destruction begins.

With the help of some good friends and family the deck came down with ease. Surprisingly there were no injuries. Alexis and I never had so much fun. We first cut the power and took off the electrical that went to the flood lamps. Then, starting with the top we cut through the posts and started sledge hammering and prying. The base to the top came off the house easily, seeing as though the board it was attached to had rotted. We also learned pretty quickly that the three posts closest to the house were actually sitting on top of the ground! No one was in front of it as the back side of the deck crashed down on top of the hot tub. The hot tub survived, so I guess it's staying for now. The house looks so much better with that deck off.

With a little energy left we started inside. There are two windows in the back that were under the deck that some one dry walled over. They made this into a small storage/room with a small closet and we're not sure why. So we got out the hammers and started taking it all out. Surprise! Two windows in pretty decent condition. There is so much light back there now. We're still deciding what to do with this room but it's nice to see it opened up.

The contractor, Matt, has started on the front porch ripping out all the wood. We're now walking the plank to get inside the house. The window guy starts on Wed and we're getting a real cold snap this weekend. It's supposed to be in the teens so it should get interesting.