Building a Backyard Deck

Costs so far:

4/11/04

Today I woke up and the sun was out!! The snow was melting. I figured this would be a great time to dig the remaining 3 pier holes. The first hole was a piece of cake; however, the second and third holes were real bears...lots of compacted soil with rocks. This took me about 2.5 hours.

here's a tip: if you're noticing that it's difficult to get the dirt out of the bottom of the holes with the post hole digger...it keeps falling out. Grab the hose and throw some water in there! not too much, but enough to moisten the soil so it doesn't fall out of the post hole digger.

I later went to Home Depot and picked up some metal post bases. These were for 6x6 posts. I also picked up some flashing....I think I'll have to go back and get more though....the stuff I got was a little short.

The lady at Home De-POT asked If I was going to support a spa.....guess lots of people don't use 6x12 beams :-)

Tomorrow I'm going to interview at Frontier academy in Greeley for a teaching position....after that, I'm heading to the building dept. for a permit.

Next Page

Fiberglass Post hole digger (flea market) $8.00

24" wood Stakes                                   $7.49

String                                                    $2.59

Clear tubing (water level)                          $3.00

more String (due to dog chewing)            $2.37

10" concrete tube x 6                             $35.88

8" concrete tube                                    $4.45

6x6 metal post bases (6)                       $53.88

flashing (3)                                           $12.84