So our insurance company has decided that our house is uninsurable because we don’t have any handrails on our deck, and they’ve given us two weeks to remedy this alleged problem.
Given the fact that our deck is less than 18 inches off the ground, this strikes me as the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard, but we weren’t given any other options.
I decided if I was going to have to mess with this project, I might as well do it right, so we took Gretchen over to 84 Lumber this afternoon and picked up $145 worth of pressure-treated lumber.
Instead of stupid-looking, totally non-functional handrails that are there for no reason except to appease some paranoiac bean-counter deep in the bowels of some insurance company headquarters, I designed a bench to run the length of the east side of the deck and a potting table to run the length of the west end of the deck.
I figure when Jamie gets big enough to take a road trip to Tulsa with his mommy and daddy, this potting area will double nicely as a sand-and-water table — especially if I install a waterproof lining, with a flange and tailpiece at one end — and if I ever host a party here, I can hose it out and either use it as a buffet table or fill it with ice and chill sodas in it.
All of this, of course, hinges on my ability to demonstrate competence with a carpentry project … but since the design for both table and bench is based around the same premise as the desk and shelf I built in my office, I think we’ll be OK.
I’ll post pictures as soon as we get it done.
Emily
Red Fork Hippie 