Reusing Deck Material to Make a Hideaway Nook Cheap!

When my brother asked for my help re-finishing his huge wood deck, I jumped at the chance of free scrap wood. And lots of it! (I also just wanted to help, because that's what family does!)

The old pressure treated wood was getting replaced with a modern composite material that was more durable and longer-lasting. After clearing the old deck of the wood:

But before dumping it unceremoniously into a dumpster:

I pulled 20 or so boards that didn't look too cracked or distressed from age and trimmed them to 10'6" long (longer than needed, but leaving room for trimming ends), and stacked them in my tiny car for the trip home. I had a plan for a mini-deck in an unused corner of my back yard.

I'd measured the space, but wasn't sure of exact lengths of the sides due to not knowing the concrete deck block measurements and how close I could place them to already existing structures. Offhand, it was going to be a 10' wide by 8' deep deck right next to the gravel path to my backyard office.

Out Of Pocket Purchases

A quick trip to Lowes to pickup a smattering of pressure treated 2x6x10's and 2x6x8's along with wood screws and four concrete deck blocks to raise the deck off the ground and prevent rot. Total out of pocket costs was around $120 in materials. I started with the outside framing, then inserted the 16" on center beams on the inside, and adding reinforcement around the tree hole.

You can see the old wooden frame I had around the tree in this picture - it was removed as it was too tall and interfered with the deck framing.

In order to not cover over the gravel path, the deck is a trapezoid shape, with the right side being a foot shorter. It required every cross beam to be cut to a different length, and each needed a 6° angle cut at the leading edge. They are all attached with three long wood screws on each end.

Old tree box removed, and the dirt is spread around. I tried to expose the base of the tree for it's health.

Front right corner block is actually slightly angled, but still works great as a support!

Concrete Closeness

These next two images detail exactly how close I could get to the neighboring structures. Each concrete block is nine inches square, and the beams sit in a notch.

The back concrete block in this photo couldn't be in the corner, due to a similar block holding up my office shed there. This concrete block is offset slightly and still supports the deck fine.

Reuse That (Free) Decking!

I didn't get crazy with the decking - used straight cuts as much as possible. I didn't want diagonal cuts making a lot of wasted scrap - I only brought home enough decking with the intention of having no waste! What I did do, however, is install the deck wood upside down, so the underside of the old deck was now facing up. Any cracking and drying from exposure was now hidden underneath! The left edge is the side I squared up as I moved forward, knowing I can trim the right side square once all the boards are installed. I planned for a four inch overhang on the sides to hide the gaps.

I started from the back and worked my way forward. I also reused the old screws we pulled initially - saving even more money! I spaced the deck boards a 12-penny nail apart as I moved toward the front (room for expansion), and also tried to straighten any warped boards by screwing them down to the beams.

I used a radial saw to trim the overhanging boards at the front at the diagonal and covered the front edge with another board to hide the open deck ends. Decking done! I put my lawn chair on it for now, which faces the setting sun (nice!)

I still need to borrow a jigsaw to get a cleaner 'round' cutout around the tree trunk, but this hack job will hold off until then. I also promised myself I'd cut the right edge of the deck boards straight, but will hold off until the jigsaw shows up and clean up everything.

I'm still figuring out what to do behind it - perhaps a trellis of some sort? I'll eventually move my outdoor kitchen and grill to this area and away from the main house. I'll post more pics once that happens! To be saved a repeat visit, subscribe to our RSS feed or follow me on BlueSky.