Wood deck repurposed

[Mike J]

We have a back deck that contains about 500 square feet of mahogany.  Not surprisingly I started to notice that some of the deck boards were flexing more than others and suspected that termites, wood borers, or rot was at work.  Probing with an ice pick confirmed my fears and we decided to pull the worst two hundred feet of deck and replace with concrete in preparation for tile replacement.  I decided to save the boards to be used for future wood working projects.  Our next project was a complete remodel of the guest CR.  I could not find any lavatory vanities that appealed to us so I decided to make my own using the mahogany deck boards.  It turned out nice, the wood having a beautiful rich reddish brown patina, and I built a matching mirror.  We have decided to use the same materials to make new kitchen cabinets.  My wife at first wanted to give away the used deck material to a local family who needed wood to build a pig pen.   When I told her I had plans for that wood she was , but now she is very .  She is already making plans beyond the kitchen and getting ready to pull up the rest of the deck. 

 

[scott h]

well done

[Queenie O.]

3 minutes ago, Mike J said:

We have a back deck that contains about 500 square feet of mahogany.  Not surprisingly I started to notice that some of the deck boards were flexing more than others and suspected that termites, wood borers, or rot was at work.  Probing with an ice pick confirmed my fears and we decided to pull the worst two hundred feet of deck and replace with concrete in preparation for tile replacement.  I decided to save the boards to be used for future wood working projects.  Our next project was a complete remodel of the guest CR.  I could not find any lavatory vanities that appealed to us so I decided to make my own using the mahogany deck boards.  It turned out nice, the wood having a beautiful rich reddish brown patina, and I built a matching mirror.  We have decided to use the same materials to make new kitchen cabinets.  My wife at first wanted to give away the used deck material to a local family who needed wood to build a pig pen.   When I told her I had plans for that wood she was , but now she is very .  She is already making plans beyond the kitchen and getting ready to pull up the rest of the deck. 

 

Great job Mike! Great way to reuse that  wood and nice outcome! You should have told your wife that that pig would have had the classiest pigpen ever! She must be very happy now. That wood is now part of the protected wood here, and only older previously cut pieces are able to be sold. Indoors with that wood it should be fine I'll bet with no more insect chews. 

 You're pretty handy!  

[OnMyWay]

Gorgeous!  I'm jealous!  I would love to build something like that but my skills are somewhat limited.

[intrepid]

Mike, you truly have a gift.  Not only at building but being able to envision a project from the salvaged wood.   Did you build with simple hand tools or do you have power tools?

[Old55]

My gosh that is lovely! Well done.

[lobojohn]

OUTSTANDING MIKE... vision is a wonderful thing. not to mention talent. 

[Mike J]

4 hours ago, Queenie O. said:

Indoors with that wood it should be fine I'll bet with no more insect chews. 

I treat it with clear solignum prior to applying the final finish just to be sure.

[Mike J]

2 hours ago, intrepid said:

Mike, you truly have a gift.  Not only at building but being able to envision a project from the salvaged wood.   Did you build with simple hand tools or do you have power tools?

In the USA I have a very nice shop filled with power tools and I also collected antique hand tools.  I brought very few tools with me because of the voltage issue and size restrictions using BB boxes.  I looked for a table saw here but could not find one I liked so I ordered one from Amazon.com and bought a step down transformer here.  A table saw is required because the mahogany strips used to make the "basket weave" for the doors are only 20/1000 inch thick.  They need to be very thin and consistent in order to bend without breaking. 

[lobojohn]

44 minutes ago, Mike J said:

In the USA I have a very nice shop filled with power tools and I also collected antique hand tools.  I brought very few tools with me because of the voltage issue and size restrictions using BB boxes.  I looked for a table saw here but could not find one I liked so I ordered one from Amazon.com and bought a step down transformer here.  A table saw is required because the mahogany strips used to make the "basket weave" for the doors are only 20/1000 inch thick.  They need to be very thin and consistent in order to bend without breaking. 

leaving my tools behind is a big regret. i had one box sent and then the rest got cabbaged up by the former friend who was sending them to me  . a life time of work and tools mostly gone. i did manage to keep my grandfathers tools which would be irreplaceable. 

nice post mike