Deck Day 9

It doesn't look like much has changed but today represented a milestone. Michelle and I spent the morning permanently installing the posts and beams with over 200 screws. The base is rock solid.

 part of this process involved using some basic trigonometry to verify all three beams were lined up correctly. I use the 3x4x5 method to verify right angles.

I continue to work on verifying the soil is graded so that in the event of a rain, there will be a good flow towards the west and no pooling. That involved removing two more wheelbarrows of dirt. I think I'm up to 18 now. I also built a small brick "mesa" around the drain. I'm not sure if that will help with drainage or not but I have few dozen extra bricks in the backyard so I figured why not put them to use.

 I watered down the dirt to repress the dust and use this as an opportunity to hose off the plant. Diesel came out to check things out once everything was cleaned up.

Next step, purchasing joists and get immersed into the art of framing.

Deck Day 8

Today's work involved two separate runs to home Depot to buy brackets. I wasn't really sure how to attach the posts to the beams. Because each post is a different size, I ended up having to use one of three methods. The best method is using a bracket specifically designed for the task. That worked for the longer posts. Three of the posts were shorter but still long enough to use another kind of bracket so I bought some of those. Three other legs are so short that you can't use a bracket so I bought giant wood screws and plan on screwing posts permanently into the beam itself so it becomes one solid unit. 

I finished up creating all of the posts from the work started yesterday and had to recut a few to get everything lined up with the porch. The goal is to have the final deck would be perfectly aligned with the surface of the porch. I think I'm in the ballpark.

I loosely put the substructure together including the brackets and double-checked all of the measurements and levels to make sure we're good to go.

Finally I unassembled the structure, labeled each post, and then Michelle helped me paint the cut ends so they'll be resealed from the elements. We need to apply two or three coats of the sealant before we permanently put the deck together.

Diesel was keeping an eye on me today.

Deck Day 7

Today's work was pretty quick. Oliver from across the street came over and we ended up cutting the beams and posts. 

We did a little math to figure out how long each beam had to be in order to provide support for the entire structure while providing space for the fascia and a 1/4-in lip on the final Deck surface. We ended up with 123" long beams. So we cut three of those and a shorter one for the back. 

The next step was to measure and cut posts for each concrete footing. This was a little time consuming because each post was a different length. We measured and cut one post that allowed the final deck surface to be at the string we measured out then cut another post to allow the beam to sit level. It was nice having Oliver around because he did a lot of the cutting and helping to eyeball all of the measurements while doing the math.

Jack double checked the work to verify everything was to code.

Deck Day 6

 Today our friend Joey stopped by and helped pour the concrete footings. Our neighbor Benton stopped by as well and the three of us knocked out the project in 2.5 hours. We woke up to a beautiful day and I rolled out the tools in preparation for Joey and Benton.

Upon arrival we started mixing concrete. We mixed two bags at a time. We would empty two bags, pour water, and mix slowly as we went along.

After a few holes we got into a rhythm. Most of the time I would move the bags and Jeoy would mix the concrete. 

After awhile Benton took over this role. He mixed A LOT of concrete.

Once poured into the hole, Benton would smooth out the top using a trowel.

After the top was smoothed out, I inserted the metal bracket into the concrete footing. We used strings to line up the brackets with each other.

The final step was to test fit the brackets with one of the 4x6 beams to verify alignment. Michelle helped me carry a beam over and we gently lined up the brackets to make sure fitment. We made a few minor adjustments prior to the concrete hardened.

See below for the end product.

We purchased 25 bags of concrete and used 20 for the 11 footings. We loaded the five remaining bags of concrete and Joey's tools into the back of his truck and drove it around to the back of our house where we loaded 14 5 gallon buckets of dirt into the back of his truck. Joey wanted the dirt for use in his backyard.

Next step, measure, cut, and install the posts and support beams. Thanks Joey and Benton for all of your help!

Home Depot Delivery

 A truck stopped by Friday afternoon and dropped off 25 bags of concrete, brackets for the concrete footings, the 4x8's needed for the beams, a 4x4 for posts, and a gallon of wood treatment for the cuts I'll need to make to the pretreated wood. We left the concrete in the street for tomorrow morning and rolled the other items into the backyard.

Deck Day 5

Yesterday I double checked the placement of the holes and had to move a couple to make sure everything was lined up correctly. And then backfilled the space around each concrete form cylinder and wet it down to help the dirt compact. 

I then went to the hardware store and ordered 25 bags of concrete and some metal framing brackets. I also bought the beams and posts that I need for the first part of the structure. There was a flat delivery fee so I figured why not shouldn't have it all dropped off.

My next step is to pour the concrete. My friend Joey is going to help me do that this Saturday.

Deck Day 4

Yesterday, Michelle and I went out to the front yard and re-measured and marked where the foundation holes should be. I used orange spray paint to draw the holes we needed to dig. 

Today my friend Joey came over and helped me dig 11 holes. Each hole is 12" in diameter and 12" deep. We didn't hit any water lines and only found one drainage pipe that caused us to alter the plan slightly but it's no big deal. We dug four more wheelbarrows worth of dirt in case you're counting.

I purchased 12-in diameter concrete form tubes and cut them into 14 in pieces, one for each hole.

My next step is to verify that all of the forms are perfectly lined up and level. I'll do that this week. My goal by Friday is to figure out how much concrete I need, and go out and buy the supplies as well as 11 brackets that will be used to hold the posts and beams.

Yesterday Michelle and I went to to brick and Barn which is a antique store in valley center. While we were there, we saw some really cool wind chimes and decided to go home and make our own. See below for a photo of what we created with seashells we already had laying around the backyard.

Deck Day 3

I got a little sidetracked this morning. I ended up cleaning the rain gutters with a broom, a vacuum, and a bucket. I got motivated to do this yesterday afternoon when I was working on the drain spouts. Over the years, the gutters were filling up with debris and I figured why not spend some time to clean them up.

But then I got back to work on the deck. Today I moved five more wheelbarrows of dirt. I also graded the surface to support drainage when it rains. I repositioned all of the grating stakes and measured out the required depth using my depth tool set to the size of the beams and joists (see photo below). I figure as long as the Earth is a couple of inches lower than that, I'll have enough ventilation and drainage under the deck. It looks like we're good to go!

 The five wheelbarrows of dirt from today plus the nine from yesterday equal 14. Curious as to what that looks like?

Q: So what can you make with 14 wheelbarrows of dirt? I've built enough dirt jumps to know exactly what that means. You can make something like this...

RIP Barnard Jumps circa 2003. The dirt lot is now a bunch of condos. Nothing is consistent but change.