Just finished the summer project of building a deck on the back of my house. This is eight feet off of the ground. All except the glass and support system were salvaged from a deck that had only stood for 1½ years. I`ve got around $1,000 in it and still more leftover lumber to build the stairing and a 12’ X 12’ platform at ground level. I dismantled it while I was still on crutches from the wreck I had last year. Got the idea for the glass balusters from a site that sells them for $13 each but I used tempered glass shelving purchased from a used store fixture dealer for $3 each. Cost is same as I would have spent on wooden balusters and I get the benefit of never having to paint them (but I will have to clean them and we all know what a pain in the butt glass can be). To satisfy myself that tempered glass would be strong and safe I`ve thrown a hammer as hard as I could against it and it didn`t break. I’m going to put white rope lighting at the bottom so that the glass shimmers at night (got the rope lighting for free as well). Stained with Cabots solid color oil stain.



Click on thumbnail for larger view.