The rest of the family was out of town, so Chloe and I spent some time Saturday making a new step.  We made it a full 6′ wide for aesthetic reasons, although 1/2 of it serves no purpose, as it’s in front of the non-opening portion of the door.  We used some left-over 4×6 pieces that were cut from the playhouse beams, as well as another piece of cedar recycled from our neighbor’s deck.  The construction was deceptively complex, as our patio has a slight slope down to the left, so each 4×6 had to be cut at an angle and to the appropriate height to make the steps level.  Needless to say, I botched a couple and had to do some “fine tuning.”  The top of the step is standard 2×6 cedar decking (new), and the trim piece that wraps around underneath the steps is actually made of cedar fence stock.

That trim piece is something that I am particularly proud of.  When Chloe and I were shopping for the piece, I initially picked out a beautiful piece of 1×6 cedar.  I was a little reluctant about the nearly $11 price tag, since it was yet one more wound in the constant bleeding of our wallets.  In the next aisle, I noticed some 1/2″x6x6 pieces of rough cedar fencing.  While most were the typical broken, knotty pieces, some didn’t look too bad.  After going through about 50 pieces, I managed to find two that were nearly knot-free.  As they were only $1.75/each, I decided to get a couple and take a chance.  Well, to my surprise, they sanded down beautifully, and they look like knot-free, Grade A cedar.  Not bad for $3.50 (and the 15 minutes it took to find the only two pieces that had this potential.)

Step construction, confused Zoe

A wary Porter tests the new step

Completed step. Someone should really fill in that hole in the concrete.

Rough v. Sanded