If you’ve been on our deck at 19 Tanfield Rd, most likely you’ll remember the view. It’s spectacular: a dead-on view of Mount Tamalpais, where my family has been fortunate enough to watch the sun go down from 1961 until now, as I prepare the house for sale. Over the years, the view has changed a bit. Where there are now McMansions, cows once roamed the hills. The pine trees that surrounding our property and so much of Tanfield Rd now block our view of the Richmond Bay Bridge. We can still see Richardson Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge towers, but you couldn’t until recently when we windowed a very large oak tree that has grown in our yard.
The deck is very large, approximately 21 feet wide and 31 feet long. There is a bulbus skylight embedded in the deck, which lets light into an orchid growing room below. At parties the deck has ben a great place to gather, except we had two different guests at two different parties fall into and break the skylight. Neither guest was injured. Ubiquitous alcohol and marijuana consumption had everything to do with the accidents. How much marijuana smoked on that deck over the years watching the sun go down while my parents were out of town? It’s impossible to know.
When I had sleepovers in the summer, we often slept under the stars on the deck. My old body now cringes at the thought of sleeping on the deck with no padding, but what did we know? We had sleeping bags and pillows and that was all we needed. I do remember always waking up a little sore, but none the worse for wear. And there was one time in 1975 when I was sleeping out with my brother Fred and my friend Ned Smith. We woke up at about 6am and gazed across the valley at what looked like a large disc hovering high above the Shepard of the Hills Church. It stayed there for a minute, then shot off like a rocket when a plane started to approach!
We ran inside and the first thing we did was try to wake my parents. It was Saturday morning and they told us to go back to sleep. Since this was an earth-shattering event for us, we decided to call the Tiburon police. The dispatcher was like, “Thank you for letting us know. Have a nice day.” What else was she going to do? To this day I am convinced it was a UFO, even if we weren’t able to sway anyone else.
The deck wasn’t just a prime spot for sunsets and sleepovers. Since we had a pool, with its western exposure the deck was a perfect spot for sunbathing after a swim. You know the feeling of warm sand under your towel at the beach after you get out of the cool ocean? That was the same warm, welcoming feeling of the deck against your skin, only without the shiftiness of the sand.
I sell a lot of houses with decks. Typically, I’m not a fan of decks. There’s a lot of maintenance and expense involved, especially when they aren’t done well. This one was well built. Since my father’s office, and my parent’s beloved orchid growing room, is below the deck it’s always been weather-proofed. I believe the weather-proofed coating has been redone at least once. In this case, the expense never mattered. The deck was worth every penny my parents ever spent on it.
Whomever the next owner of 19 Tanfield Road is, I can guarantee they will absolutely love the deck and the joy it will bring to their lives.