Deck Building 2.1

It’s been a long time since I built my first deck when I was living in Atlanta so many years ago.  There have been others over the years but I haven’t worked on one for a long time now.  I guess it is like riding a bicycle; it just comes back to you.  Memory muscle must come into play as you start laying out the design; adjust things as wish list items get added and putting in a few upgrades to set it off. 

As you can see my “Where’s the Flamingo International Tour, 2016” has taken a side track for the time being.  Placido Flamingo and I have enjoyed our time with friends here in Portland (Gresham) Oregon and have decided to stay a bit longer before continuing our journey. 

Building this deck for my friends Jan and Nate have given me some time to think (about 120 man-hours), sort through some things and enjoy working with my hands once again.  It has been an extremely satisfying experience.  I enjoy working with wood and other products and like the attention to detail as you place screw after screw after screw in the beautiful cedar deck boards.  Between the structural framing lumber, decking, and pergola wood, and the trim cedar boards wrapping the posts and making the planter boxes there were over forty five pounds of screws in different sizes installed into this project.  That does not take into account the lag screws, long bolts, nuts, fender washers, and lock washers used, probably another fifteen pounds or more.

Pavers and stone were used for the fire pit along with some small gravel to keep the embers from burning through the bottom of the fire bowl. Electrical conduit was used for the electrical and low voltage wiring for outlets and outdoor speakers along with the under bench lighting I added to give it a nice ambiance with the mood lighting while someone lounges in the hot tub.  Privacy screens were added to block neighbor’s view of the hot tub shenanigans.

I’ll give you a quick sequence of how this project took place.  Complete demolition of the existing 12’ x 16’ deck and all its structural lumber framing.  Everything had to be removed so the deck could be lowered by four and a half inches to match the patio door elevation.  Once the ledger board attached to the house was adjusted to the new height then I built the “new” existing structural framing.  The new expanded area was framed next to bring the overall size to the 28’ x 16’ dimensions.   At this point the idea for the pergola was added to cover the spa area and I knew that benches would be nice for those sitting outside the hot tub so I designed a corner bench that was eight foot on one side and six foot on the other.  Hand railing was added along with two posts which a solar light sat on top of the post.

Materials for the decking were ordered from Lowe’s and were to be delivered the following day between 9 am and 11.  A call was received from Lowe’s stating they would reschedule the delivery between one and three in the afternoon.  No problem as it was time to make a dump run of the old decking materials.  The delivery was about four in the afternoon and off loaded and taken to the back yard staging area.  I noticed a couple of boards had what looked like bird crap on them and figured they had been stored outside at the box store but upon further inspection I found many pieces has dry rot or were warped and twisted beyond what could be used.  Out of 34 sixteen foot long board only four were usable and of the 34 twelve footers over half of those were no good.  I was frustrated and aggravated that Lowe’s would send out such crap that was to be used for finish work so I had no problem sending it back and scheduled a time on Monday for them to pick it up telling them they needed to bring extra help to load it back up on their truck.  The driver showed up on Monday afternoon alone and complained about having to get the 70 pieces by himself.  I told him I alerted the store about needing the extra help and when he looked at his paperwork told me, “I guess it would have been helpful if I had looked at this before I left.”  He rescheduled to return the next day with help.

We went to a local lumber yard about a mile away and ordered the new cedar decking materials and trim wood for wrapping the posts and it was delivered on Tuesday morning.  That wood was beautiful, not warped or twisted and had nice color patterns in the pieces.  The process of screwing all the pieces in place, the sixteen footers followed by the twelves went smoothly even with the special cut pieces.  Paul (a guy helping me) and I trimmed out around the hot tub and created a lift out hatch to make any repairs to the pump motor easier.

Fast forward a few days to the decking being completed and the pergola was framed.  I made the bench seats and installed the lighting underneath for nighttime ambiance.  A privacy screen was installed along with outdoor speakers and several hanging flower baskets brightened things up a bit.  The two flower planter boxes were completed and colorful flowers gave the deck a light and fragrant smell while working.  A new grill was hooked up the natural gas line I installed and a smoker completed the outdoor cooking area.

The fun part was installing all the pavers and stonework for the fire pit and its base.  The sand mortar went smoothly on the base but I had trouble getting it to stay in the stonework as the dry sand had a tendency to pour out so I was able to obtain some shrink wrap and rolled it around the round stones to hold and keep the sand in the holes and grooves until I could wet it in order for it to set up properly.  Colorful chairs were added and the deck was ready for a gathering on Saturday afternoon.  About twenty five people showed up for a BBQ and poker party where everyone had a great time.  The deck project was a success.

Jan posted pictures on FB and several other people have contacted me about doing work for them so I may hang out here, do a few more projects, make some money using my hands and enjoy the friendliness of those I have come in contact with.  I looked at another project yesterday for a 22’x25’ slightly elevated around another spa.  They would like a swim up bar at the spa edge and bar stools on the deck side.  It should be another interesting project.  I completed the design today and will get back with them to get the go ahead to start ordering the Trex materials and framing lumber.

“You never know what's around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you've climbed a mountain.” ― Tom Hiddleston

The way that we as humans can live, is if we grow.  The only way that we can grow is if we change; the only way that we can change is if we learn.  The only way we can learn is if we are exposed.  And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open.  Do it.  Throw yourself.  Continue your journey and open yourself to the experience of whatever you find and see what your reaction is to the new thing.  I think I will go and enjoy the hot tub and sooth this aching body.  Cheers!

Ice