How we DIY'ed our backyard deck! And got all this blue stone for $300...

I found the blue stone pavers on Facebook! And we built this wood deck ourselves.

When we purchased this property 2 years ago, the backyard was our dumping ground on demo day.

The house needed to be painted. The windows had to be replaced. And the backyard was completely overgrown and now littered with everything we tore out of the house.

We bought a $10 junk table off Facebook that was completely uneven on top - but it served as our temporary backyard set up! Eek!

Once interior renovations were complete (you can see the new windows are in here) we started on the backyard. Beginning by ripping out most of the old bushes.

We began on the deck by installing a ledger board - screwing it to the house's foundation with 4-inch concrete anchors. Like this: available here.

We rented an auger from the Home Depot to help dig the deck post holes. This thing is powerful! Thankfully Matt & my sister's boyfriend Andres were able to work together to use it. Definitely a 2-man job.

We needed the post-holes to be over 40-inches deep to be below the frost line, so that when the ground freezes and thaws it won't shift the deck. If you're doing a similar project you can check for proper depth on this map!

With the ledger on and 6-holes dug, we were ready to begin framing the base of the deck.

Making sure the posts were level and plumb was one of the hardest parts. But you can use a tool like this - it was really helpful! Once the outer frame was up, we simply made marks every 16-inches for where our joists would go. We used large level to check and make sure our joists were level with one another as we went. We also used joist hangers and blocking for added stability.

We then just added the deck boards on top, using Deckmate screws to secure them.

We hired out the labor for the blue stone patio. Here they are getting started!

Like I said, I got the stone for $300 on Facebook!! Such a deal. To put it in perspective, just ONE PIECE of thick blue stone I bought for our fireplace hearth cost me about $200.

We also got a great deal on the labor. The guys leveled out the backyard with fresh top soil and grass seed while they were here.

They also put down a layer of fresh gravel on the driveway.

We tested out several semi-transparent stain & sealants to finish the deck. We wound up choosing Olympic Cedar.

Most of our outdoor furniture and our fire pit came from World Market. They were having a big sale when we bought.

I don't think this exact set is available anymore but here is a similar couch, chair and fire pit.

I love our outdoor dining table because it comes with 2 built-in drink chillers - which you can see better on the product page here.

With the backyard set, we now want to get some space heaters out here so we can try to enjoy it all year-round!