Building a Backyard Deck

Costs so far:

4/14/04

Well, the other day I went to the local lumber yard Cedar Supply (www.cedarsupply.com) to inquire about lumber prices. It seems I'm going to need to special order the 2x12's. Most places in town only have 16' lengths, and I need 18' or 20'.

Cedar Supply has the Brazilian Hardwood (Massaranduba ?) decking that I'm looking at. It's superior to all other deck woods typically used (cedar, redwood, pine). It is stronger, straighter, more rot resistant, more fire resistant, and better looking. It's only marginally more expensive, and I value not doing lots of maintenance.

Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to get Mikey to help me with pouring the footings...maybe I'll be able to get some other help too. I should add that I'm using a book Building a Deck: Expert Advice from Start to Finish : by Scott Schuttner. This book is awesome and has all the details you'd ever need to build a deck. It's superior to every other book out there. The pro-tips are insightful and are laid out when you need them in the construction process. This book is well worth the $20 I spent on it.

UPDATE: I went to lots of trouble to draw up some nice plans for deck construction for the building dept. folks. I then headed over there to get a permit. The B*tch at the front desk was unhelpful and told me it would take over a month to get a permit. F*ck that! It would only take them 10 minutes to go over my plans and issue a permit. It's not like I'm building a sub-division. I tried going the legit route, but they obviously have other priorities....local residents not being one of them. It seems the developers are their friends as they can bring in the $$$$. I have decided to forego the permit process. I will, however, build the deck to comply with code. That's the smart thing to do....for an overbuilt deck such as this, I'm actually exceeding the requirements of code design and making it even safer than they require.

Here's some pics of the yard with the holes (they're covered so dogs and people don't fall in), but it will give you a good idea of my progress.

Later today I'm going to order the 2x12's. Man, I sure hope they are straight without much cupping or bowing...

that's it for today.

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