Still No Deck: Deck Day # "I lost count"

It has been a busy couple of weeks.  We have had a lot of obligations that have taken time away from decking.  Also my maternity leave ended and I headed back to work.  (That was really hard and is probably a separate blog post!).

So as it stands we are still working on finishing up the deck. I am at the point that I am beginning to think we will never have a finished deck.  That is probably okay because we will never find furniture for the deck anyhow. 

Why don't people sell patio tables separately from the chairs for under 1000 bucks?  We have found a few tables we like but very few in our targeted price range.  The husband refuses to buy an outdoor table that we will only use for a few months a year that costs more that what we paid for our dinning table, agreed.

This past week we did find a couple options at Crate and Barrel and one online at Home Depot. 

Now the problem is trying to determine if they will be heavy enough to withstand our hurricane force winds we get pretty regularly.  One of our neighbors had their huge propane grill blow off of their deck last year during a particularly forceful wind storm.  We would like to make sure our table does not act like a sail and shoot straight into the neighbor's house.

So back to the state of the deck.  Last time we checked in the husband was convinced that he was going to have to redo the stairs which meant taking out one of the big rocks.  After a backyard chat with some of the neighborhood dudes a new plan was formed.  With a few off-label adjustments to the placement of the railing on the stairs we get back a few more inches on the walkable width space.  Yay, no redo!

As it stands all of the posts for the rails are in and bolted. 

Cutting the railing pieces began yesterday.  This is not fun.  It involves a reciprocating saw cutting through iron too close to fingers for my comfort.  The husband maintains their is no risk to fingers but I still hold my breath.  What makes it really fun is the saw bounces around a tad as it is making the cuts.  The result is that you get a few nicks in the railing.  These will have to be treated with rustoleum to prevent rust forming.  Not a huge deal but still a pain.

What you are looking at is 1 of 10 panels of railing installed (no post caps yet).  The goal for today is to get a couple more done but with temperatures getting close to 100 today we may retreat to the cool air conditioning. 

That sounds like more fun than decking...let's do that.

I am now starting to realize why the deck is not finished yet.

Happy Memorial Day...also I Hate Decks

First things first.  Thank you to all of the military keeping our country safe.  Hopefully everyone is enjoying some BBQ today.

Our grandiose plans of sitting out on our new finished deck with scrumptious food are not going to materialize.   We did make some progress this weekend however. 

Good news...the stairs are in! 

Bad news...they are most likely going to have to come back out.

Due to a slight miscalculation the walkable space on the stairway once the railing is in may not be enough.  Code is 36 inches for the stairs.  I am pretty sure that is walkable space and not total.  We have 36 inches total but once the railing is in it will be more like 26 inches. 

26 inches is pretty narrow. 

The problem is that it will be very difficult to fix the stairs after the railing is in....and expensive.  So if we want the stairs bigger we need to make the correction now before the railing on the deck goes in.

As has been par for the course it will not be easy to increase the width of the stairs.  It is going to require breaking apart a huge rock that is at the bottom of the stairs.  It will also require the stairs to be completely redone.

With the setback the decking took a back seat to some other yard work today. 

At least for now we have stairs...although the pugs refuse to go down them.

This project is beginning to annoy me.

So Happy Memorial Day to all of you that have decks.  I hate you.

Stairway to Heaven...Almost - Deck Day #7

Thank goodness for long 4 day weekends.  There is about an 80% chance that 100% the deck will be completed by close of business on Monday.

Yesterday the husband and wife (mostly the husband) worked on the stairs.  I have never been looking forward to a set of stairs so much in my life.  It has been two really long weeks of letting the pugs out the front door to go to the bathroom.  Getting them out is not hard.  Getting them in is virtually impossible.

First piece of business was to remove a small amount of sod from the area where the stairs would be coming off of the deck.

Next up was the assembly of the pre-formed braces.  The husband needed a bit of help holding things together so baby girl did a bit of supervising on the deck.

Then came attaching the assembly to the hangers on the deck.

Finally the stair boards.

There was an issue.  The top stair is slightly bigger than the others and will require a small additional board piece (or the purchase of a 5 1/2 inch wide board vs. the 5 inch boards we have).  Take home message here is that the stairs are not done.  Close but no cigar.

I am starting to have serious doubts that this project is ever going to get done.

So close, yet so far... Deck Day #7

The day started out again with rain, a lot of rain.  The decking did not commence until 1:00. 

It had been a long night.  The husband didn't sleep well, he was going over stabilization options in his head.  The sway of the deck was troubling.  I think baby girl must have been worried about the deck too as she decided to get up 2 times something that she hasn't done for weeks.

So waking up to the rain was a bit frustrating.  The husband was ready to go sore muscles and sleep deprivation be damned.

(Note the whale kneeling pad that we use when we bath baby girl...hey sometimes you need to improvise)

 

Once the weather cooperated it was on like Donkey Kong.  The goal being to finish all of the deck boards and get the stairs up.

It was a lofty goal.

It was fun to see more and more of the deck put together.  It really started to look like a deck.  In addition a wonderful thing happened.  It was very clear about halfway through that the addition of the boards was in fact stabilizing the wobble a ton.  While the husband may still put a couple of angle supports on they are probably not necessary.  It is pretty solid.

They worked until 9:00.  They got really close to finishing up the deck boards.

This small gap is all that remains. 

The husband is going to work on the remaining deck boards and the stairs this week.  Leaving only the railing (which we still need to decide on) for this long Memorial Day weekend.

The new goal is to be able to sit out on the deck on Memorial day and enjoy some BBQ.  There is a bunch of work left to do in order to make that happen.  Including me doing some shopping for patio furniture. 

We haven't been doing a great job of meeting time lines recently so we will see.  We may be eating BBQ sitting on a deck with no railings and no chairs but at least we will have a deck.

A Break in the Rain - Deck Day #6 (Part 2)

Yesterday morning was a complete loss as far as the deck project was concerned.  Thankfully the rain let up a little bit in the afternoon and some deckery was done.

We now have some deck boards in place.  It is finally beginning to look like a deck.

Truth be told the progress was pretty slow.  Passing rain showers would force the husband and brother to pack up the tools and come inside pretty regularly.  It is hard to work up any momentum when you have to stop every 45 minutes.

We also have another potential issue.

The deck is a bit wobbly. 

There is a bit more sway in the deck than the husband would like.  When this issue was first brought up to the wife I panicked a bit.  The husband however is not as concerned.  There is a pretty good chance that when all of the boards are in place it will stabilize.  It is a large deck so a small amount of sway is to be expected and the boards will help make everything more solid.

If that does not correct the issue then the posts will be reinforced with either angle braces or some additional concrete.

The husband is taking all of the issues in stride.  The wife is a little more concerned.

Today the board laying continues and will hopefully be completed although we have rain showers forecast for the afternoon.  In addition ideally the stairs would be put in but I think there is about a 0% chance of that happening. 

If there is one thing we have learned with the deck project...it is everything takes longer!

Rain Delay - Deck Day #6

After a VERY long week of letting 3 pugs out to the front yard to go to the bathroom I was looking forward to the deck work this weekend.  The husband's goal was to have all of the boards laid and the stairs in by the end of Sunday.

Mother Nature has a different plan...RAIN all weekend.

Is there such a thing as a Sun Dance? 

I am going to have to Google that.

Maybe We Don't Need a Deck - Deck Day #5

There may have been a slight underestimation on the amount of time building a deck would require.

A couple days ago the husband and I were planning a big Memorial Day BBQ to christen our new deck.  We would have plenty of time to finish up the deck, get furniture, and do a bit of backyard maintenance (plant some new bushes) before Memorial Day.

We were smoking crack.

Demo day was a holy mess.  You would think that ripping something down would be much easier than putting something up.

After a long morning of back-breaking hammer and crowbar wielding work we now are sans walkout.  Now we just have a drop off from the kitchen sliding down to the gravel below.  It is a bit surreal to look out and not see the stairs.  The pugs are confused. 

The goal for the day was to get the frame completed.  Mission NOT accomplished.

With the demo taking much longer than expected, a couple of trips to the hardware store, varying issues with boards, yada, yada, yada....there are still joists that need to be hung.

Yesterday the deck was be put on the back-burner.  The battle will continue next weekend.  Until then the wife gets the super fun job of walking (the term herding would be more accurate) three pugs out the front door through the side gate to the backyard....all while juggling a baby.

The husband needs to finish this deck.

Level Schmevel - Deck Day #4

The deck is again fully underway.  Yesterday was an important day for the deck project. 

And by important I mean frustrating.

The husband got the beam and most of the joists up.

I had not fully appreciated how difficult and critical it was to get all of the numberous pieces of beam and joist placed correctly.  This is especially difficult when the lumber you have recieved is slightly different widths and heights (the husband may have uttered a few colorful words...).

Thankfully the husband had some beefy help (his brother).

The first step was to get the big beam pieced together.  The deck is going to be about 30 feet so no one board was going to cover that distance.  The beam is actually multiple joist boards placed together.  Again getting everything level and lined up was a pretty big challenge.

After the beam was in place it was time to hang the joists.  There was additional measuring, leveling, and swearing.

                       (Yes, that is a pink gardening glove...long story!)

At the end of the day the majority of the joists were up.  In order to hang the remaining joists the old walkout will need to come down. Demo is tomorrow's project.

That means a sledgehammer.

Deck Guts

Deck materials have been delivered.

This pile of material will be transformed by the husband into a deck this weekend.

Last night we took a drive around the neighborhood to look at the different railing systems that people have used for their decks.  I like the aluminium ones, the husband is leaning toward the vinyl type...

...between you and me I suspect I know who will win.

Spending Money - Deck Day #3

Today was spending money day!

We decided to go with composite decking, TREX.  While the upfront cost is a bit more it does weather better and the upkeep is minimal.  Neither the husband nor the wife wants to be out there every year staining.  So composite here we come.

My dad and I headed out to the lumber yard in the morning.  His hook-up at the yard ended up scoring us an employee discount.   Not too shabby.  All of the materials have been ordered/purchased with the exception of the railing system.  That decision still needs to be made.

We had a slight hope that they would be able to deliver the materials today.  With the dad leaving tomorrow we had hoped that maybe some additional work could be done today.  Unfortunately we will have to wait for the materials to be delivered tomorrow.

The husband did take off a bit early from work so that they could work on getting the posts put up.  It was a race against nature as a rain storm decided to move in right when the deck work began.  Thankfully no one was made of sugar and even with the rain drops coming down the post work got finished.

The deck project is now on hold until the weekend.  The husband is going to recruit some help and hopefully by the end of the weekend we will have a deck (at least a deck without the railing). 

Also as a confession...I haven't started painting the picture shelves yet...maybe tomorrow.  Maybe not.

When the Decking Gets Tough: Deck Day #2

So 2 days into the deck project and the shiz is getting real.

Like most all DIY projects numerous trips to the home improvement store were required.  In addition plans had to be redrafted, tweaked, and/or adjusted a few times.  The main issue being that the husband was trying to utilize some of the existing deck components (like the joists, posts, and ledger board).  What became clear is that the little walkout deck that the home builders put in was not built with any tender loving care...no pressure treated wood.  Also the size of posts and the ledger board did not jive with the new stuff decking.

So a lot of standing around and pondering happened today.

A lot...

Finally after a large amount of discussion the plan is to now rip out the entire existing structure and start from scratch with new materials.  It will be easier than having to jim-jam sizes and it will weather better with the pressure treated lumber.

Yeah it was a "2 pencil behind the ear" kind of day today.

All of the adjustments aside today's To Do List was completed in time for some late afternoon naps by the husband and the dad. 

The concrete footings went in without a hitch.

All of the ledger board is up and ready for joists.  That almost went up without a hitch...almost.

There was a slight miscalculation on one set of holes which required some quick hole filling.  No big whoop.  You have to roll with the punches.  However it does always seem like the punches get thrown at the end of the day.

Tomorrow is an off day for deck work as the concrete needs to dry before the posts can be attached.

Monday's plan is to get the posts in as the husband will need help with those and Monday is the last day the dad will be able to help before leaving town. 

Also on Monday we will be ordering all of the composite lumber for the actual deck.  The dad was in the hardware/lumber business for about 40 years so he has hooked us up with a connection to get a great discount on materials...bonus!

Tasks Completed Day #2
**Ledger boards attached.
**Finalized plans for existing deck (will be tearing it all out)
**Concrete forms poured

Day #3
**Order composite materials
**Attached posts to the concrete forms

Hi Ho Hi Ho...a Decking We Will Go - DAY 1

It is official the deck work has begun!

Admittedly the husband started this project about 2 weeks later than first anticipated....

There was a last minute MAJOR change to the overall plan.  After a couple frustrating weeks trying to work with Lowes and Home Depot on the multi-level deck plan he made the decision to go a bit easier (and bigger in the end) and keep it a simple one level deck.

Getting rid of the two level design is really going to open up the deck.  The main issue was the levelness of the ground (or lack there of) and the fact that the stairs to connect the two deck levels would completely cut into the usable square footage of the deck. 

So this weekend is the weekend.  The wife's Dad is in town for a few days visiting baby girl before he takes off for his Alaska fishing house for the summer.  We decided to put him to work.  He has experience in building houses and decks so the husband welcomed some advice.  Drilling into the side of one's house will give a person pause.  It is nice to have some back-up support.

After spending the better part of an evening reviewing plans the first trip to the hardware store was made.  On tap for Day #1 was to dig the holes for the posts.

While this may not be a massive all day undertaking in most backyards ours is full of rocks.  I should say full of boulders.  If you look around the yards in our neighborhood you will see everyone has landscaped with large rocks.  Many of these landscaping choices were not made solely for aesthetics.  These rocks came out of the ground during the home building and had to go somewhere.

As we have chronicled in the blog previously it is always a bit of a crap shoot to make a hole in the yard.  If you are living right you may be able to dig a few inches before encountering your first rock.  When the husband was planting all of the fruit trees he would often start digging only to find a huge boulder in his way.  The nice thing about planting the fruit trees is he could pick a different spot to plant if the boulder was too big.

When digging holes for the posts on the deck they only had one option for where each post hole needed to go.  So if a boulder was encountered....it needed to come out.  Luckily there was only one really big rock in one of the holes.  Unluckily there were a ton of mid-sized rocks making the digging really slow hard work.

I am not sure that the Dad was fully aware of what a massive effort it was going to be to dig 5 holes.  By the end he was no doubt rethinking his enthusiastic "I would love to help with the deck" comment.

Of course as always there was plenty of pug help.

Task accomplished Deck Day #1:
**Post holes dug
**Concrete forms placed

Plan for Deck Day #2:
**Attach the ledger boards to the house
**Pour concrete