Happy Tuesday, friends! I thought I’d share a bit of what’s been happening at Happy Hill. (aka our lake house) Come take a look at our plans for a new deck! But first, the huge maple tree had to come down. (Insert sad face here.)
A little background, when we first laid eyes on this lake house online, we knew it was meant to be. My husband, Brad, found the house on Zillow and showed it to me. It was love at first sight, even before I set eyes on it in person! We had been looking for a lake house for about a year and my husband kept an eye on what was new to the market. We flew down after Christmas of 2011 to look at the house and a few others. But in my mind, no other house would do. First of all, the view is stunning! We put in an offer and it was accepted. We purchased the house and closed on February 17, 2012.
Not only is the view beautiful, but the water is deep and the water frontage plentiful. The house needed lots of work, but had so much charm and potential. Then, there’s this huge, gorgeous maple tree in the middle of the deck. It’s tall, stately and provides lots of shade on the deck. We never thought we would let it go.
Until this year. The house and deck are over 50 years old and the deck had started to rot. Not only that, part of the tree was diseased. The tree was split in the middle and part of it hung precariously over the house. If this monster tree ever fell on the house, it would be devastating. So, we made the tough decision to take down the tree. Naturally one thing led to another. We decided to take out the tree, tear down the old deck, and build a new one~with a roof and a fireplace! Thankfully, my brother is in the tree business and agreed to take out the tree for us. This photo was taken last week at about 8:30 am.
And so it began. Limb by limb the tree came down. It’s all about the right equipment, right? My brother’s company owns the very best, making even this tremendous job doable. (In case you are local and need a great tree guy, it’s Ed Brooks Tree Service (704)528-3007~tell Edward that Dell sent you!)
At this point in the process there may have been a few tears secretly shed.
And then there was none. In order to assuage our guilt and sorrow for taking down the tree, we decided to keep this last piece of the tree and have it made into a mantle for the new fireplace. See how bad the decking looks? The next step is to tear down the deck.
So, THIS happened yesterday! One day’s work and the deck is completely gone and the debris has been hauled away. We decided to leave the small angled roof and porch. ( Where the man is standing in front of the door.) The framework and structure of the roof ties directly into the dining area behind it so it would be a nightmare of a task to remove it. So, this will be a funky little sitting area under the bigger roof. But, this is totally part of the charm of this house. Lots of quirky little angles and details!
Today my brother is coming back to remove the rest of the tree and grind the stumps. Tomorrow the contractor will start on the new deck and the footings for the fireplace. And it’s ALL going to be worth it!
The future deck will be larger than the old one and will measure a generous 24 x 24 feet. There will be a triple-gabled roof with a fireplace on this end opposite the back door. And in case you are wondering if there will be a chandelier out here? You haven’t just met me, right? Of course there will be. And it’s fabulous!! I bought it probably 7 years ago when we first entertained the thought of taking down the tree and covering the deck. It’s been waiting patiently all of these years, hanging in the car port over my husband’s old 1966 Ford pickup truck. I can’t wait to show it to you!
So, it was really, really, sad to see the old tree being cut down. We saved several slabs of the tree in addition to the stump. Our boys wanted a piece of the tree as a keepsake, so we saved some for them. And for us. The mantle will be a constant reminder of the lovely tree. And, as much as we’ll miss the tree, it will be nice to have a covered porch so we can enjoy the lake rain or shine, year round. It’s going to be awesome!
I’ll be sure and keep you posted on the progress. I’m guessing it will take about a month start to finish. So, stay tuned! I hope you have a great day! xoxo Dell
