Building a Backyard Deck

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    1. layout & design                  (March28th)
    2. digging                           (April 9th)
    3. digging                           (April 11th)
    4. permits/design/lumber      (April 14th)
    5. concrete footings               (April 25th)
    6. final footings                         (May 12th)
    7. Install ledger                         (May 13th)
    8. Deck Framing (finally!)    (May 15th)
    9. more framing                        (May 16th)
    10. more framing                     (May 17th-18th)
    11. final framing/flashing      (May 19th)
    12. Decking                       (May 20-31st)
    13. Posts / south stairs          (June 1st)

     

    5/15/04

     

     

    Here I am Sawing away on a 6x6x post.

    Well here's the latest update. On Sat. I went to pick up Mike in Greeley. Right after I got home Joel pulled in. Not long after that Dave Schweers and Gonzo rolled in. It was a full on deck building party!Joel. Kelsi & David....getting those posts level. Mike taking a well deserved break

    We began by setting the posts. Lots of measuring and re-measuring. Finally it seemed we'd gotten it right. The plan was to have a 1/2" slope on the deck so water would drain off easily. The posts took about 2 hours. (longer than I expected).  

     Gonzo and David figuring out the post height.   David and I still working on post height.

    After the posts were set, we began building the 6'"x12"x18'  beams. Whoa....those 2x12's are heavy as hell.Anyways, we put some spacers in between them so water would drain well. On e major problem cropped up once we'd built up the beams. It seemed that one of the2x12's was very warped....which sucks for a $43 board. David and Gonzo came up with the ingenious solution of bolting the beams together with some stout 1/2" bolts. I ran to the store to pick up some bolts....just as the pizza was arriving :-(

     Gonzo, David, & I nailing in the post for the south stairs.   Mike looks amazed at the girth of the beam...David is nailing it together.

    I'm slipping in the spacers so the water will drain off properly. Joel and Gonzo look on.    Everybody hammering away!!

    slipping more spacer in the beams....more nailing.     The whole crew in action once again with the beams...those are 6x12's baby!   

     Let's get these F$ckers together!

    Once we'd bolted the beam together, we checked level again and everything came out nice and even between the beams. Gonzo had to leave about this time. He was a huge help manipulating the beams into place, as we figured they weighed upwards of 300#. Thanks Gonz!

     Gonzo and I manipulating those beam into position.   finally nailing the beams to the posts....now it's about 2:30p.m.  

    After the beams were in place, it was time to set the joists. To our surprise, it wasn't level from the outer beam to the ledger....ugh! We were in a real pickle now. Well, Dave Schweers came to the rescue and we got the joists level with the outer beam and the ledger. I would have to slightly shim the center beam. Not something I'd wanted to do, but necessary as we weren't going to re-set those beams!

    DAve, Mike and I begin the layout of the joists.   Dave and I get the outer east rim joist nailed up and leveled

    By now, it was about 5:00 p.m. and we were getting the joists up as fast as possible. We also found out that the center beam was also crowned and bowed in different places along its length....uuggghhh. We persevered (actually David did, as I was pretty beat by this time) and got 90% of the joists set and level. Dave perserveres!

    I want to thank all of you who took time out of your weekend to come help me. I couldn't have done it without you. You guys rock! Extra big thanks go out to Dave for sticking around and helping me finish up the basic framing and hanging the joists!

    The final result of a good hard working Saturday with friends :-)

     

    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  (6) $35.88
    8" concrete tube $4.45
    6x6 metal post bases (6) $53.88
    flashing (3) $12.84
    20'   2x4's  (2) $19.88
    50# bags of gravel (2) $7.94
    scrap lumber $2.55
    25 bags concrete 80# $67.25
    Concrete Mixer Rental $42.13
    P.T. 16' 2x10 (ledger) $32.64
    Subtotal as of : of 4/26/04 $302.89


     
    Zach Andersson