Every house has its story. What's yours?

After a lively weekend of mixing concrete (bucket by friggin' bucket) I have all of the support pillars set.

I dug out around the supports and then proceeded to backfill with stones jammed into the concrete. I must say they are pretty darned sturdy now after curing for a couple of days.

I made the little grooves in the concrete above ground for functional purposes rather than aesthetic.

My theory goes that when I place the dirt over these it will stay in place better than keeping the concrete sloped. I will then plunk down a few rocks, of which there is no shortage in my yard, in the dirt for added stability.

As you can see in the photos I have placed tar paper over the attachment point of support pillars to support beams. Beneath the tarpaper is where I fastened everything together and I figured that it's probably doesn't hurt to keep rain from settling on the top of the pillars. I've also placed tar paper over the point where the support beams meet and are anchored together.

After taking down the railings around the old deck, I am left with the task of ripping out the old deck and rail supports. I'm hoping the new wood to arrives today/tomorrow.

Here's where I stand as of this moment:

Let's see what I can get to in the coming days.