These days we hear a lot about recycling and “going green,” but finding ways to apply these concepts to home projects can prove puzzling. However, a recent project has helped me to look at recycling in a whole new way.
After replacing the deck on his home, a co-worker lamented that he had to dispose of a truckload of old boards. I agreed to take them because I have ample storage and thought they might be useful for replacing boards on my deck, but when I examined the 2x8 cedar planks, I realized they were in no shape to be part of a newer finished deck. So my wife and I decided to use them to build a floor for our neglected outdoor bar area.
The bar itself is also made from recycled materials. The top was the original kitchen countertop from our renovated farmhouse. I had set it aside after remodeling, and years later I discovered beautiful cedar underneath the old laminate. When I refinished it with high-gloss spar varnish, it was almost like discovering a fossil, considering the old knife marks and water stains that make it unique. I originally used barn wood for the sides of the bar; we later added cedar shakes for a nominal cost. The only other materials I purchased for the bar project were the treated 2x4s used for the frame.
I enjoyed every minute of the floor project, maybe because it harkened back to my days building tree houses. There’s a bit of room for error when you’re building a rustic outdoor floor, and I used any type of building material available to me to make it as level as possible. The project required only a circular saw, a level and a cordless screw gun, and all I had to buy were 3-in. deck screws.
I started by laying out the boards to see how I could best use them. The load included more than a dozen pieces of Trex composite decking that I could use for footers underneath the floor. I began with a 4-ft. square and laid out concentric squares around it. I had enough planks to build a 10-ft. square. I planned to extend one side with 4 ft. of straight planks that would run beneath the bar. This way the square pattern would extend out from the bar like a small dance floor.
I first assembled the center square and built the first of the four “pie pieces” that would surround it. The support spokes underneath consist mainly of the Trex boards and wooden shims ranging from lath to cedar shakes to paint sticks. I also used some landscape blocks I had on hand for the outside edges where the elevation required more depth.
Once the square “pie” pieces came together, I built the 4 x 10-ft. extension out of leftover 2x8 pieces with landscape blocks for support (photo 2). Underneath I added black polyurethane to prevent weeds. I am happy to say there were enough planks — I even used a few leftover 2x8 pieces to build a platform for a new gas grill that I placed near the back side of the bar— and the result is the quaint sitting area we had hoped for. The bar is surrounded by a grove of trees, which gives it the feel of a tree house. All of the pieces are tied in together, but it’s essentially a free-floating structure that can be moved if needed. (Just please don’t ask me to do it!)
I finished the project in time for our annual Fourth of July party. People marveled at the idea of using landfill-bound lumber for such a suitable purpose. I was glad to be able to create something from salvage materials that will serve me for years. (We plan to sand and treat the floor to ensure an even longer life.) I also like the fact that I can always expand the floor pattern and make it bigger — as soon as someone else needs to dispose of some used deck materials.