I’ve been busy enjoying my new balcony deck for the past two weeks. I’m so happy with it that I couldn’t resist sharing it with you all. Here is the story:

When we bought our house, the balcony deck was in a terrible shape. You can see it in the “before picture”.  BTW, that’s my son when he was a year old, I  couldn’t find a picture with out him in it

The vinyl floor was stained with a rusty color and most of the original color had faded. The wood railings were mostly rotten too.  For the safety of my son, we changed the railing  couple of months after moving in.  Here is the picture with the new railing, my then 2.5 year old son and 11 months old daughter included

We painted the balcony deck year after year. The picture above is the painted floor.

This spring my husband found a great do-it-yourself flooring product from IKEA store called Platta. I’ve asked my husband Kash to write an FAQ type instruction on it.

first an “after picture” of my beautiful deck and then the article

Article by my husband Kash

What is a Platta decking tile?

It is a modular wood decking tile that is designed to be used outdoor on a balcony, a patio deck or any outside floor that needs to be beautified.

It is made from the beautiful plantation-grown Acacia hardwood. Its hardness and the natural oils present in the wood make Acacia Hardwood products extremely resistant to fungi, termites, rot and decay.

The base is made from PVC plastic and permit water to flow through, while it also elevates the wood for drying airflow. Of course it is used for connecting the tiles together using the connection points on the tile edges.

Where not to use Platta decking tiles?

It is not recommended  to use Platta decking tiles  on grass lawn or non-flat surfaces. Some people also use them on kitchen and bathroom floors but I wouldn’t recommend it  as you dont want to be constantly removing the tiles to clean the subfloor.

How much does it cost?

IKEA Platta decking has another thing going for it, the PRICE. Compared to other alternative decking solutions, it is relatively cheap and wont ruin your budget. We bought ours at approximately $9/sf at the IKEA store Richmond, BC Canada. But it can be bought as cheap as $4/sf as the price fluctuates depending on the stores inventory.

Can I install it myself? And if so, how long will it take me?

The Platta decking tiles are so easy to install that even my 5 year old son was able to do it. To connect two tiles together, position the connection points along the entire edges, apply downward pressure on the connection points until all of the connection points are snapped together. This is a all done without using nails, glue, or a hammer. This is definitely a do-it-yourself job designed for the average homeowner. You can build your deck within a matter of hours.

How to I install Platta decking tiles around railing posts?

If you decide to fit the decking tiles around such obstacles as railing posts, you will require tools other than your hands. First layout and connect tiles anywhere where you don’t have to do any trimming (i.e. railing posts etc.). Once you have laid out all your whole tiles, for each tile that needs to be cut and trimmed, use a measuring tape to determine the dimensions. Next use either a hand saw or a power jigsaw to do the cutting. I bought my power jigsaw from a Canadian Tire store at a low price of $28. I figured it’s a handy tool to have around the house. It will take some practice to do the trimming perfect so expect to lose a couple of tiles in the process. Always remember to measure twice and cut once.

How do I Maintain the Platta decking tiles?

It is recommended to oil the tile every 6 months. If you live in a city like Vancouver where it rains virtually everyday, it’s not a bad idea to remove and store the tiles in the storage during fall and winter months. For everyday cleaning, you can wash down the tiles using your garden hose and/or a light scrub mop.

When you buy the tiles, make sure you buy some extra tiles that can be used as spare parts just in case you lose some tile due to wear and tear.

Notes of caution:

Acacia hardwood contains a tannic acid naturally which, after a time, can leak out and discolor the sub-floor. ever lay wooden decking on a surface where it would matter if this happened.”

I’m done. There is still two more days left to Norouz and I’m finished with my organization.

Still have to clean up the house but that’s the daily chores, doesn’t count

It was a very interesting and enlightening project. To tell the truth I was very close to calling it quits. At the beginning, it was kind of difficult to see things in a different way, in a more practical order. After a few drawers, I got the hang of it and then it was not that bad.

I kept these tips in mind during the project:

1-      Sort out

2-      Keep related things in one place

3-      Use containers

4-      Keep order of things as practical as possible

5-      Find the bottle neck that makes the mess, remove it

I can say I’m a changed organized mom now, and the kids are getting the hang of it too. They are more organized than they were before, of course for a toddlers.

Off to baking cookies

Until later,

Last Friday kids and I had fun spring-cleaning. As soon as dad came home I started emptying, cleaning and reorganizing kitchen cabinets one after the other. After I guess two of the cabinets, my son came and told me he wants to help. He started helping in emptying and wiping the cabinets. My daughter as well asked if she can also clean something, so I gave her a clean wet towel and told her to clean the cabinet doors.  They had a blast helping me and they were proud of themselves telling dad that they are helping mom getting ready for Nowruz.

This lasted only about half and hour, but it was the most enjoyable half an hour of my life. They had a goal, a purpose. We all enjoyed working together. They still like to help but not that excited about it.

This experience reminded me of my mom telling stories of her childhood and Nowruz cleaning (spring cleaning). Unlike now they used to live in big houses with grandparents, uncles and cousins and for Nowruz the kids each, had a section of the house to clean. She always tells the story with such joy, remembering all the fun they had cleaning the house as a family all together.

I hope to create that joy for my kids too. Maybe these memories stay with them a life time.

I have only 8 days left to finish my project. So far so good with organizing, more than half the kitchen is organized. The spice cabinet is done which is the most important and difficult one. But!  Yes, there is a big but, my whole house is upside down due to my son’s birthday party couple of days ago and his sickness the day after.

Until later,

Well I don’t know what day of this project it is, all I know is that I only have another 18 days to finish all the things I wanted to do to get my life more organized and efficient, and do my spring cleaning at the same time.

Up to now I have organized the master bedroom (mentioned on previous post) the kids bedrooms are all organized and cleaned from top to bottom. I have changed the decoration of my son’s room, changed the place of his bed to make his room more accessible and organized.

Now the kids know what belongs where, every toy has a place! Which was not like that before; they had some toys that didn’t belong to a specific spot and ended up anywhere. So far so good, I was consistent on asking them to clean up their room before bed (putting everything back in it’s place), well they didn’t like it but did it anyway after a lot of going back and forths. I just have to keep in mind not to miss a day on enforcing this, otherwise I will lose the battle and things will go back the way it was.

Bathroom cabinets and few of the kitchen cabinets are organized as well. Looks like I’m almost there, but there are lots to do and I hope I’ll make it in time. Specially that I’m thinking of baking some traditional cookies like Nokhodchi (chickpea cookie) and Noonberenji (rice cookie) for Nowruz. These will take a good chunk of time to do.

Next stop is the rest of kitchen cabinets, fridge, and the TV stand in family room. Then vacuuming, mopping and washing the windows. Just that, nothing more, or is it! I don’t know I’ll get to it when I get there, just thinking of all of these makes me tired. I had a long day, doing my chores and keeping the children busy and entertained.          Off to bed, thank goodness for nights.

Until later,

Looks like I have more luck doing anything on weekends. So far I was only able to organize kids books. I tried to organize them by putting most popular books in boxes on the bookshelf so they can get them easily without knocking the rest down on the floor.  I also managed to go through 1/3 of the CDs and DVDs to see what is working what is not and organize them in one box. But that’s all and I have a lot to go. Weekdays is all about classes, games, reading and crafts; not cleaning and organizing.

I think I will have a hard time to finish in 38days, most of my work should be on weekends.

Until later,