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.

Deck Day 2

Today I moved nine wheelbarrows of dirt to the backyard. I completely overestimated how much dirt I had to move. After that, I rerouted the rain gutter downspouts. When first installed, there was one spout that handled all the water off of the roof of the house and another spout 4 ft away that handled the water that landed on the porch deck. To make the corner of the porch a little more clean, I rerouted the porch deck downspout into the one for the rest of the roof. I also dug a trench and rerouted some irrigation lines I found. The irrigation lines used to come up near where the corner of the deck will hebut that will be inaccessible once the deck is complete so I move them towards where the front of the deck will be so that I could use them in the future if necessary. Future proofing!

I also climbed under the house to verify where the gas lines and the water lines enter. The good news is I confirm the gas line enters near the gas meter and will not cause any problems. The bad news is I discovered the water line enters the house 10 ft West of where the water line leaves the street. In other words, there's a bend or a couple turns in the blind somewhere and I have no idea where they are. I'll have to dig carefully.

1975

 I experienced my first day of school in 1975. Since then "the first day of school" has been part of my life. Either as a K-12 student, a college student, or an educator...I have always been at a school on the first day of school....until today.

Today is the first "first day of school" since Michelle and I retired June 30, 2025. We made a point to celebrate this event by being somewhere else than San Diego on the first day of school. We chose Ponte, our favorite winery in Temecula, Ca.

We drove up to Ponte on Sunday afternoon. We spent the day in the pool and enjoyed the warm evening around a fire pit gazing at a full moon.

On Monday morning we woke up without using an alarm and opened the doors of our room to enjoy the beautiful view.

We watched a brown pelican swim around the pond catching frogs for breakfast.

After that, we walked over to the restaurant to enjoy a breakfast. I had huevos rancheros and a bloody mary.

Michelle and I worked 32 years in SDUSD in order to be able to retire while young enough to enjoy life. Today was a wonderful beginning of the next chapter of our lives together.

Deck Day 1

 You can call this "day 1" if you don't count the day I spent removing five trash cans full of plants and the time I have spent drawing diagrams of the deck and visiting Dixieline Lumber to talk to people about wood and construction methods. But since I purchased some concrete forms today and got to work moving dirt then I considered this Day 1. 

I need to grade the ground prior to digging holes for the concrete footings. We live on a slope and I need to make sure water won't pool under the deck. I pounded some survey stakes into the ground and ran string around to verify how far the deck will sit off the ground once complete. The west side will be 20 inches off the ground and the east side will be 6 inches above grade.

New Bike Day

 I bought my first mountain bike (Santa Cruz Bronson) in 2017. 1264 miles and tons of fun later I found a new ride. I’m in love with bikes and can’t wait to see where my Pivot Mach 6 takes me.