Deck rebuild and other projects

[Selden]

Our house was built in the mid-1960's, and included a redwood deck which, after 45 years was showing its age. Last year, I got a rebuild estimate from a contractor for a sum that I was unwilling to pay. I also learned that the county government wants $1500 for a permit to build a new deck, but that no permit is required to repair an existing deck.

 

I started in mid-February, and finished major construction at 1:00 p.m. on April 9. 3000 pounds of lumber. Working alone, and with only a circular saw, a roofing square, and some C-clamps, I was a very slow worker. If I were to do this over again, I would invest in a radial saw. Overall, I'm fairly pleased with the results.

 

My mother was hospitalized last week with a bad case of cellulitis, and was discharged from the hospital Friday. I left for Delaware on Saturday morning, arriving late this afternoon. I think I've tweaked the R1100RT to as close to perfect as it's going to be for me. Reshaped the Meyer seat to my taste last fall, and the final tweak was to install a pair of 1/8" aluminum spacers under the front bracket. It doesn't sound like much, but even 1/8" makes a significant difference. With a 29" inseam, I'm treading a fine line between comfort and being able to foot the bike comfortably at stops. This weekend's ride also gave me a chance to continue experimenting with rebound settings on the Ohlins shocks, and confirmed that when they are dialed in, a single click makes a detectable difference in ride quality.

 

I almost got a performance award on a backroad in Virginia today, between I-95 and 301. The posted limit is 55, and the prevailing speed for traffic was about 65. Cresting a hill, I saw a trooper's car parked on the center median, and gradually slowed down to an indicated 60, which on the RT's speedometer, I am reasonably certain corresponds to 55 mph. Looking in my mirror, I saw the police car coming up behind, then pacing me for several miles. I looked straight ahead. Eventually, I signaled and pulled off at a high school parking lot to make a rebound tweak, and never saw the officer again.

 

Nice ride, and unlike my last ride to Delaware, I didn't destroy a tire with a huge oak splinter. The Diablo on the front now has 7000 miles, and looks like it will last to 8000 miles, which will be the best tread wear I have yet gotten from a front tire on the RT. But, I'll probably be looking for a new front tire when I get back to Atlanta. Since the rear PR2 has only 3000 miles on it, I'll probably go with whatever is on sale, then replace both with a set of PR3s next year, if they have gotten good reviews by that time.

[moshe_levy]

Beautiful job on the deck, Selden. I just (had one) built last year. I don't trust myself with any home projects!

 

-MKL

[Quinn]

Several times in Virginia, county sherrifs would turn around to follow me, waiting for me to give them a reason to stop and ticket. I figured out it was because my inspection sticker was in the left corner of my windshield and not in the middle like theirs. So they knew I was out of state and fresh meat.

 

But enough of my whining. Tell us more about the deck rebuild. Did you keep the original understructure? Do you just have straight railings or builtin seats? What type of wood? How much spacing between boards? Nails or screws or hidden fasteners?

 

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[Selden]

... Tell us more about the deck rebuild. Did you keep the original understructure? Do you just have straight railings or builtin seats? What type of wood? How much spacing between boards? Nails or screws or hidden fasteners?

My local county government published as good a guide as I have seen (which I followed to make sure I stayed within code): Typical Deck Details.

 

To avoid paying $1500 for a building permit, I kept the original beams and joists, replacing rotted wood where necessary. Fortunately, all the supporting posts were 4" steel tubing, rather than 4x4 wood. About half the original joists were rotted, and since I was using 5/4x6 PT deck boards, the original joist spacing of 24" centers was too wide. Apart from rotted ends, most of the old 2x6 redwood deck boards were sound, so I trimmed them and used them to replace rotted joists, and to halve the spacing for the thinner deck boards. Home Depot #2 PT deck boards are knot-ridden junk; the "premium" boards cost twice as much, but are far higher quality. Composite plastic decking would be even better, but would have added more to the cost than I was willing to spend on a house that will go up for sale in less than 5 years. I bought a bundle (96 12-foot boards), of which about a dozen were not of sufficient quality to use for decking. However, I haven't done the steps yet, and will be able to salvage usable sections from the remaining boards for treads. Whatever lumber is left over goes back to Home Depot.

 

Simpson galvanized Strong Tie brackets for all joist-beam connections (even the old ones that were nailed), secured with 1.5" #9 galvanized screws. I used plastic coated 2.5" #9 deck screws for all the deck boards and railings. A 25 pound box was about right, and came with 2 T25 Torx bits -- which soon rounded off. One of my best decisions was buying a box of 10 T25 bits; 8 out of 10 have been used to date. I love screw fasteners over nails (no hammered thumbs), as they make redos much easier. Two battery powered drills work better than one (one for fasteners, the other for drilling pilot holes and and countersink relief for board ends). I picked up an 18V drill at Harbor Freight, and after using it for a day, realized that I needed a second battery on the charger; went back and found that an 18V battery pack cost as much as a slightly different 18V drill that was on sale, so I ended up with two drills.

 

The following tools were unexpectedly useful:

• 1/2" x 2" x 10" steel bar (inherited from my father decades ago). This was invaluable as a portable anvil for bending nails, as well as a fulcrum for pulling nails during the de-construction phase.
  
• 24" T-handled wrecker bar from Harbor Freight. (Made in India, not China!) A 36" bar would have been even better.
  
• 2 strap clamps. These have a long 1" nylon strap attached to a ratchet that can be turned with a socket wrench. Few deck boards were truly straight, and the strap clamps allowed me to apply enormous amounts of force to pull them straight as I screwed them down. Some boards required repeated pulls in different directions to yield a consistent spacing.
  
• A retractable leash with belt clip for a carpenter's pencil. I can lose something in plain sight in 10 seconds, and this thing was a life saver.
  
• A spreadsheet for all materials. Not only helps keep track of costs (about $2000 to date), but I ended up with very little waste. #2 deck boards and nails would have cut materials costs significantly -- but I would still be working on the thing.
  

Remaining to be done: steps (3); add two more solar LED copper light caps to fill out the back railing, various minor trim details, wait for the wood to dry, then coat with Flood UV protectant.

 

I pretty much destroyed 3 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of leather work gloves, 2 pair of cloth gloves, and several T-shirts. There is no way I would want to tackle a project like this in weather above 80 degrees. Drank a quart of iced tea each day, then at the end of the shift, filled the tub for a soak, and had a cold beer. I lost 7 pounds, and looking in a mirror, my love handles are pretty much gone, and my shoulders are now wider than my waist. All in all, a very satisfying project -- and my wife is relieve that I'm no longer tossing filthy clothing in the laundry, or tracking mud and sawdust around the house.

[ESokoloff]

That deck looks great Seldon.

 

And the best part is realizing you don't have to do that again for 40 years

[Rocer]

Wohoo! Party at Selden's.

 

 

[Mike]

Our house was built in the mid-1960's, and included a redwood deck which, after 45 years was showing its age. Last year, I got a rebuild estimate from a contractor for a sum that I was unwilling to pay. I also learned that the county government wants $1500 for a permit to build a new deck, but that no permit is required to repair an existing deck.

 

Your deck looks great!

 

The whole idea of "building" versus "repairing" the deck reminded me of an experience at our previous home. It was located on corner lot and the city code required a lengthy process to build fences on such lots, due to concerns about obstructing the views of motorists. Sensible enough, at least a first blush.

 

The existing wood fence stood at the back of the lot, at least 150 feet from the intersection, and it was rotting. My wife and I decided it would be great to have a nice ornamental metal fence, so we contacted the City. it turned out that we would have had to post a huge sign, notifying the world of our intention to seek a variance, and would have had to appear before the zoning board and the city council to gain approval for the metal fence, which would have improved the appearance of our property. Or, if we replaced the fence with one of "like materials" (another wooden fence of similar design to the one that was rotting), we could just go ahead and do it without any permits, big-ass sign, or hearings.

 

Guess which way we decided to go.

[tallman]

If you repair enough of the problem, eventually it will all be replaced.

[Selden]

If you repair enough of the problem, eventually it will all be replaced.

I think this is what Southwest Airlines is trying with their 737 fleet...

[Chris K]

That deck looks great! I'm about 2/3 done with my deck redo and I hope it turns out as nice as yours.

[MT Wallet]

Looks great! If you want to ride to North Dakota, I've got saws and I need a deck. Southwest probably saw your deck and hoped they could do as well piece by piece.