decktastic part one
Hoo, boy. Turns out, three people working on a project makes it go a lot faster than just one person. A lot faster.
My parents were here this weekend, and we've got a long and storied history of putting them to work on major projects when they're out here. Landscaping work, framing the basement, putting up drywall, building a deck, that kind of thing. Good thing they want to see the grandkids, or they might never come back.
As an extra bonus, my uncle was out here for some sort of trade show boondoggle, and decided to tack on a couple of extra days to see us. Little did he know what we had in store...
So on Friday morning, they asked me where we should start. I mentioned the dirt and rubble that was covering the patio, and how some of it would have to be moved out of the way so there would be someplace for the deck to go. I told them some of it could be used to backfill the broken up part near the house, and some more could go behind the patio, on a part that will be covered up. Oh, and some grass could be removed. I wandered off to go look for a few tools and some weed barrier, and seriously, the dirt and rubble disappeared. It was the most incredible thing I've ever witnessed. I came back and it was just gone. The patio was swept clean (literally, they swept it off).
This is how the rest of the day went. I was doing my darndest to line up more things to do, and my dad and uncle were getting them done faster than I could come up with more.
So. Clean sweep finished, we went out to the front of the house, where the lumber had just been delivered. And I looked at the posts. And I scratched my head a little. And I went for my tape measure. Yup. Those posts are too short, they sent the wrong length. Nice. So, I strapped the posts to the top of the car, and my dad drove off to the lumberyard to exchange them. This was repeated with depressing frequency the rest of the day.
It went like this:
He came back with the posts, and we started to work on setting them in the post bases. I realized I couldn't tighten the nut for the bases, because I needed a deep socket to do it. Also, I realized I hadn't bought the bolts I would need to attach the beam to the posts. So off I went to the store.
When I got back, we finished putting up the posts, and got ready to drill the beam for the bolts. As it turned out, I didn't have a long enough drill bit for the hole. So, my mom went to buy the bit, and also for some more nails.
So, she got back, we drilled a hole, put in a bolt, and realized the bolts were too short. Yes. Those bolts. The ones that I *JUST* *BOUGHT.* I had added up a 3-1/2" post, and two 1-1/2" boards, got 6-1/2" and figured a 7" bolt would be perfect. No such luck. It barely emerged out of the hole, you definitely couldn't get a washer and nut on it. A lesser man would've cried at this point. Instead, I sent my dad for longer bolts.
Let's just say it's a good thing the trip to the building supply store is less than 2 miles.
Fortunately, there were a lot of other things to be working on while someone was running off to get something, because someone was *always* running off to get something. And also fortunately, once we got the bolts, everything started to happen really fast. We put up the beam, which is the part that bolts to the posts and runs parallel to the house. Then, we started putting up the joists, which run perpendicular to the house and sit on top of the beam. In no time we had most of the joists in, and you could actually begin to imagine a deck. Let's look at some pictures:
Making sure the post is plumb:
That's quite a drill bit you've got there. (Apparently bits come in two sizes. Too short, and really, really, really long.)
Evan watches the action. Your day will come, my boy, your day will come:
Checking the beam for level:
Drilling for the beam bolts:
The end of the first day:
More to come...
My parents were here this weekend, and we've got a long and storied history of putting them to work on major projects when they're out here. Landscaping work, framing the basement, putting up drywall, building a deck, that kind of thing. Good thing they want to see the grandkids, or they might never come back.
As an extra bonus, my uncle was out here for some sort of trade show boondoggle, and decided to tack on a couple of extra days to see us. Little did he know what we had in store...
So on Friday morning, they asked me where we should start. I mentioned the dirt and rubble that was covering the patio, and how some of it would have to be moved out of the way so there would be someplace for the deck to go. I told them some of it could be used to backfill the broken up part near the house, and some more could go behind the patio, on a part that will be covered up. Oh, and some grass could be removed. I wandered off to go look for a few tools and some weed barrier, and seriously, the dirt and rubble disappeared. It was the most incredible thing I've ever witnessed. I came back and it was just gone. The patio was swept clean (literally, they swept it off).
This is how the rest of the day went. I was doing my darndest to line up more things to do, and my dad and uncle were getting them done faster than I could come up with more.
So. Clean sweep finished, we went out to the front of the house, where the lumber had just been delivered. And I looked at the posts. And I scratched my head a little. And I went for my tape measure. Yup. Those posts are too short, they sent the wrong length. Nice. So, I strapped the posts to the top of the car, and my dad drove off to the lumberyard to exchange them. This was repeated with depressing frequency the rest of the day.
It went like this:
He came back with the posts, and we started to work on setting them in the post bases. I realized I couldn't tighten the nut for the bases, because I needed a deep socket to do it. Also, I realized I hadn't bought the bolts I would need to attach the beam to the posts. So off I went to the store.
When I got back, we finished putting up the posts, and got ready to drill the beam for the bolts. As it turned out, I didn't have a long enough drill bit for the hole. So, my mom went to buy the bit, and also for some more nails.
So, she got back, we drilled a hole, put in a bolt, and realized the bolts were too short. Yes. Those bolts. The ones that I *JUST* *BOUGHT.* I had added up a 3-1/2" post, and two 1-1/2" boards, got 6-1/2" and figured a 7" bolt would be perfect. No such luck. It barely emerged out of the hole, you definitely couldn't get a washer and nut on it. A lesser man would've cried at this point. Instead, I sent my dad for longer bolts.
Let's just say it's a good thing the trip to the building supply store is less than 2 miles.
Fortunately, there were a lot of other things to be working on while someone was running off to get something, because someone was *always* running off to get something. And also fortunately, once we got the bolts, everything started to happen really fast. We put up the beam, which is the part that bolts to the posts and runs parallel to the house. Then, we started putting up the joists, which run perpendicular to the house and sit on top of the beam. In no time we had most of the joists in, and you could actually begin to imagine a deck. Let's look at some pictures:
Making sure the post is plumb:
That's quite a drill bit you've got there. (Apparently bits come in two sizes. Too short, and really, really, really long.)
Evan watches the action. Your day will come, my boy, your day will come:
Checking the beam for level:
Drilling for the beam bolts:
The end of the first day:
More to come...
posted by Steve
2 Comments:
nice work! that is so awesome to have the help. i'm very impressed with all this DIY.
Wow! I am loving following this story! Thanks for posting about it!
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