Deck builders fear me!

clowman · 04-23-2007, 10:16 PM

Well.. maybe fear is a strong word, perhaps a little silent chuckle is more in order. Anyway, every since getting a workbench magazine last year with a deck redo project, my wife and I have been eyeing this project. Here is a link with the inspiration for this project. We started with this deck on the back of our house. The railing was a bit shabby. It wobbled, and you could get a handfull of splinters by running your hand across the handrail. Here is what we had:

We started by disassembling the entire deck rail, and pulling up a few key deck boards. It is amazing what you can do with a 2 lb mallet and 10 minutes.

It took quite a while to get the posts mounted. I spend extra time making sure they were exactally in line and straight up and down. After all, a mistake here would make the whole thing hard to handle. 2 6" lag bolts on each posts. I had to saddle fit some of the posts so they would be supported on 2 sides. I wanted a sturdy deck.

It was about at this point, I looked at it, and said to my wife. I hate this stain color. I'm pretty sure that daggers would come shooting out of her eyes when I told her that. She had just finished staining lattice for the past 3 1/2 hours. She did not want to hear what I was about to say. Time to paint the whole thing white.

It was about this point in time I couldn't resist taking a picture of my plumber.. err.. I mean my son, picking up some screws I had dropped.

Moving on... We got the handrails installed, making sure those posts were all straight really paid off here. The rails went up pretty quick.

Next I installed the back frame for a lattice screen.

Here is the screen installed, the upper railing, and the pergola installed. The pergola was attached to the house with 2-6" lag screws on each point of the house. Screwed into a supporting beam on the side of the house.

Here is a view ready for the final paint job.

Next.. the final painting in progress.

I did get the whole thing painted, along with the lower deck beam, were the old rails attached. But it was too dark to get a picture. Stay tuned tomorrow for final pictures.

Deck builders fear me? I think not. I'm done with this. It took me 2 full weekends to assemble this deck. I am quite pleased with the finished product. I can't wait for tomorrow to get some final pictures. There are more pictures in my gallery. Sort it by filename to get a timeline of the pictures. Thanks for looking. Check back again tomorrow night for pictures of the finishe product.

ChrisMathes · 04-23-2007, 10:40 PM

Clay..I've been wondering what you've been up to!!! You've been awfully quiet on the other side of the state! That looks absolutely GREAT! I love it...especially the contrast of the 'bulky' posts with the slim strips between.

Nice work!

Chris

DaveO · 04-23-2007, 10:51 PM

Awesome Clay, that is a HUGE improvement. I've been looking for a good deck builder (one that knows the definition of a step

). Do you want to give up your day job...I got a $12,000 deck sold right now

Dave

jeff... · 04-24-2007, 01:11 AM

WOW - awesome improvement, nice work Clay

Travis Porter · 04-24-2007, 08:23 AM

Quite an upgrade! Almost thought you were going to cover and screen it. What are you going to use for floor boards?

clowman · 04-24-2007, 08:27 AM

Almost thought you were going to cover and screen it.

Na, my wife and I didn't want to spend that much cash. She's always wanted a porch swing and pergola. We reused the same floor boards that were down before. One was cracked very badly, and had a really bad piece of wood sticking up from it. We flipped that one over.

Littlejon · 04-24-2007, 12:01 PM

Good looking deck you have there! I remember that project as well. Glad to see someone do it!

sapwood · 04-24-2007, 02:27 PM

Nice Clay! What did you use for the verticals between the rails? Round powder coated metal? I like it

Roger

dozer · 04-24-2007, 04:27 PM

Great looking deck Clay, what a big difference that makes to the way the back of the house looks.

zimman20 · 04-24-2007, 04:38 PM

Great work!

Splinter · 04-24-2007, 06:18 PM

Geat looking deck Clay.

The swing made a nice feature and the privacy screen will help with prying eyes from the neighbors.

cpowell · 04-24-2007, 08:46 PM

Well, deck builders better be on guard. That's realllllly nice work there, Clay.

You've really put the pressure on the neighbors with your cool deck. I can see some deck mods in the neighborhood and the guys complaining, "I can't play golf today, I gotta work on the new deck".

I guess LOYL meant it when she gave you "the look" (not THAT look, the one when you told her you wanted to paint it white). I notice who's holding the paint can and brush in the last photo!!

Chuck

clowman · 04-24-2007, 09:44 PM

What did you use for the verticals between the rails? Round powder coated metal?

I used the classic balusters. They are powder coated aluminum, I used the rust colored ones, to match the lattice, and deck floor.

I notice who's holding the paint can and brush in the last photo!!

Noticed that did you

. Truth be told, my wife, Amy, did 90% of the initial painting. I did the 2nd coat. We all know the 2nd coat goes on much faster.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. So far, we have spent every afternoon on the back deck. No TV. (That's a good thing)

clowman · 04-24-2007, 09:46 PM

Here are a couple of shoots of the deck with the paint on.

Anybody have any suggestions on covering up the bolt holes?

Dave.. We went with Carolina Jasmine to climb up the back of the lattice. Thanks for the advice.

DaveO · 04-24-2007, 09:55 PM

Originally Posted by clowman

Dave.. We went with Carolina Jasmine to climb up the back of the lattice. Thanks for the advice.

You didn't tell me that you were gonna make something that looked so nice, it's a shame to cover it with some dang vine. You'll be happy with the Carolina Jasmine, it's native, tough, evergreen and has great flowers. Just don't eat it

Dave