Demolition and Material Removal

into when we started this thing. Guys, this is going to be a very thorough two-part video because I want to cover every detail. If you guys go out and attempt to build a deck like this on your own, I want to make sure that you can use this video as a reference and help you along the way. In the first video, we're going to cover demolition, excavation, prepping the grades, which is huge, and a lot of people miss this one point. And then we're going to frame in the deck. On the next video, we're going to cover some of the deck framing details that when you go to build a composite deck, a lot of people miss, including us. We want to make sure that you guys have all the information so you can start out on the right foot. Now, you guys may not need a deck that's quite this large, but I did to entertain all of my friends. So, let's get this party started. Now, I want to talk about deck design. If you already have a deck there, you guys can come up with something completely new and unique. What I see a lot of people doing is removing an old deck, putting up a new deck with the exact same design. I want you to think of it like this. Once you remove the old deck, it's a fresh start. You can do absolutely anything that your imagination or heart desires. So don't be afraid to start to think outside of the box. Now the first thing that has to be done is the demolition and removals. This existing patio is made out of two things. Retaining wall blocks and paver stones. What I find is a lot of customers try to save and reuse those retaining wall blocks. I'm going to caution you when you have the chance, just get rid of them. Nobody really wants secondhand retaining wall stones. Now, on this project, we did save and reuse all the paver stones that were in the patio. The concrete blocks themselves, those went into recycling and ground up into road base, so they did live a second life later on. So, after we've palletized the paver stones and gotten them out of the way, it's time to take that old retaining wall block, put it into a dump truck, and haul it away to get recycled. And yep, our tires were bald and the sight was muddy and wet, so we sure couldn't get much traction, which made our job a lot more difficult.