My First Deck

Day Much Later: Stuff

2008-08-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

Long break, but I'm back now. Today I finished off the stairs in light rain. Mosquitos are not fun to work with. I was short a few boards, and needed some more 2*4s for railings. Picked them up on the way home from work. As you can see below, I got the stair railings done, and got the stairs all neatly cut and mounted. I'll need to rip 1 board to put in at the bottom of the stairs, but no rush on that.

Here's a close up of the nice cut I was able to make with Sean's compound mitre saw. Worked like a charm on the weird angle (somewhere around 59 degrees).

And lastly, here is the view from the top. I still need to find some solar light post caps for the 2 posts at the top of the stairs. I've come up empty handed everywhere I've looked (admittedly, this is only 2 places).

Day 8: Railings

2008-08-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

Finally the weather cooperated and I was able to do some more work. You'll have to pardon the fuzzy pictures. Now that I'm back at work, I'm working with the mosquitoes in much less light.

I put up the last 2 posts for the upper railings at the base of the stairs. I had to take the last board off and re-cut it to fit now that there were 2 more obstructions for it to wrap around. I've also changed my mind about how to lay out the stairs. Now I'm putting a board along the back of the stair, and overhanging the nose board farther. This allows me to fit 2 full boards on each step. They will all look like the third step up eventually (though I will trim the ends to be less precarious).

I also got the railings started. A 2*4 at the bottom and top, and a 5/4*6 on top to make a nice wide railing. I'll have 1*1 slats running vertically eventually. I'm also going to put solar light post caps on the 2 at the top of the stairs. The others get little cedar hats like the one next to the house in this picture.

Lastly, I got some serious cramps in my calf while bent down screwing in all the little skirting boards. And that leaves me here.

Day 7: Little Stuff

2008-08-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

K didn't like the look of my double 2*4 posts, so I went out and got some beautiful and ludicrously expensive cedar posts. They look swell.

I also picked up the 24 carriage bolts and 24 washers I needed to mount them, but walked right past the bin with the nuts in it. Luckily, I had a few 3/8" nuts, but I'll need to get more.

Alan saw my last post, and specifically that I needed a circular saw, and so he came over today to help. We got 5 posts in, the edges on the lower section nice and straight, and I got the last board next to the house cut and wedged in.

Thanks a lot for your help Alan!

Day 6: Getting There!

2008-08-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

Stairs are in! I still need to rip 4 planks to fit behind the nosing board on the stairs, and rip 1 board for the top level (butting up against the house).

After that, I have to borrow a circ saw from my Dad so that I can snap a chalk line and cut all the excess wood off the edges. Then railings, and, as you can see, I'm going to use the extra cedar to put up around the bottom to make it pretty. I would have screwed those in today, but I sprayed my drill with a hose, so I'm going to let it dry off.

Pictures:

Thanks to Jon and Richard who came over to help.

Day 5: Rain Day

2008-08-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

My friend Jon had the day off work, so he came over to lend a hand.

We worked for 7 hours in the hot sun, and it started to drizzle as we were finishing up. We got all the tools and lumber into the garage, and then this happened...

Lots of rain. So much that the downspouts couldn't keep up with it all, and they backed up. And some hail thrown in for good measure.

We got a lot done today though. Our backs are both feeling it.

We didn't finish off the decking because I still haven't bought the 2*12 I need before I can hang the stringers (which will be fastened to the joists of the lower section). I hope to get that done tomorrow.

Thanks Jon!

Day 4: More Framing

2008-08-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

Not a lot done today, but I should have the framing done tomorrow. I need to replace the 2*8 header with a cedar 2*12 to hang the stair stringers, and buy more deck blocks.

It's starting to take shape though!

Day 3: Framing and Bleeding

2008-08-14T10:48:00.000-07:00

Framed the upper portion of the deck today.

That's a blood stain in the lower left of the picture above. I bled a lot.

Day 2: Rock out!

2008-08-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

Lots of gravel to move to the back yard. Thankfully I have a nice new wheelbarrow.

Day 1: Digging Day

2008-08-14T10:44:00.001-07:00

Dug 2 post holes by hand (never doing that again), hung the ledger and laid out landscaping cloth.

Day 0: Demo Day

2008-08-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Out with the old