Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

My bad, didn't read everything, it's now starting to look like a very well built solid deck. Now grab a cigar and finish the damn thing!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Damn, Scott--that deck is probably gonna be more sturdy than your house!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

That is a huge deck! I'm jealous, I am starting a paver patio this weekend. Not looking forward to putting it in, but can't wait to smoke on it.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Nice job! Should be very enjoyable when your finished.:banger

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

I have some updated pics.
The red patio umbrella thing (or whatever you call them) was just something to cover the tools in the rain. It allowed us to keep working through a lot of crappy conditions. Now that the sun is back, we just use it to cool off. It was a good idea, but it wasn't my idea. The FIL thought of that.
Today, yet ANOTHER load of lumber showed up. I ordered another 100 decking boards and some 2x12's for the front steps. We needed a couple 4x4's, too.
We keep adding stuff. The underside of the railing will have solid sndwiched lighting and there will be 1/2"x1" aluminum balusters all around the deck. 210 of them. Th thought hurts my head.
We made a number of other aesthetic improvements along the way and she's getting prettier and prettier. Today we're off, so I ran all over and got a ton of stuff we needed and bought the FIL a couple gifts. I got me a few toys, too. :D
Enough blah, here's some more pics...

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/8aad657f.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/0829c350.jpg

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/10e638c0.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/da04054f.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/31aad127.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/e94b39d2.jpg

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

looking good brother!!!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

I'm gonna grab a power nap and then I'll get out there and get to work finishing all the thousand loose ends. Bruce doesn't like to finish stuff, so it's been quite a battle. I like to finish everything before I move ahead so there's not a week of sucky jobs to do at the end.
Oh, I tested the stain we picked out on a few different boards that were totally different colors. It looks gorgeous, I couldn't be more pleased. :D

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

sweetness! Amazing job. Hope you get many, many years of enjoyment out of that deck!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Looking good

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

That looks awesome! I wish I had skills :(

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Coming together nicely :tu

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Yeah, that's definitely looking good. Of course, in addition to additional herf space, dining al fresco in the evening, and all other benefits that come with having a deck .....


there's also less grass to mow! :D

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

She's almost done, phase one, anyways. So it's time for the inaugural cigar. :D
I'll get gobs of pics as soon as phase one is done, then when the skirting and underneath storage is done.
Anyways, here's the smoke, courtesy of Vinnie. :tu

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/95bc5cad.jpg

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Looking real good Scott!!!!!!!! :tu

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

A deck? WOW! That's huge? How's your back been holding up through all this?

Peace of the Lord be with you.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

I really respect someone who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty and do some manual labor. Right on- can't wait to see the final product :tu

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

My back has been really good. The muscle crap, not so much. It's giving me fits. Hopefully I'll be back out there tomorrow and get the railing done so we can get the staining finished. :tu

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Looking good brother!!! Can't wait to see it finished.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

:tu:)

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Wow Scott, that is a phenomenal deck, great workmanship from the pics.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

:tpd:
Yeah, I can't even make an ashtray!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

turned out great

hope you have many years of enjoyment out of it

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Awesome work Scott! :tu

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Looking great Scott! You guys have a great eye for the aesthetic.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Here's some update pics. There's still more work to do, but there's a lot of progress since the last pics, so what the hell.

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/b3a666b6.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/27cda5b3.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/c561965e.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/1b8e3346.jpg

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/11fde8a9.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/9552e183.jpg

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/57c446f1.jpg

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

That next to last picture makes the railing pickets look crooked. They're not. Weird camera angle.
After I go get the kids and go to the grocery store I'm gonna finish the railing on the other side of the steps, and try to finish reinstalling the rest of the railing caps and effects and stuff.
We used rope lights up in a groove under the 8" railing cap to shine some light down around the whole edge of the deck. It lights up the black aluminum pickets, too. It looks absolutely awesome. It was well worth all the extra work and money (ouch).
I've not worked on it for the last four days or so cause I've been in crappy shape. I can put a little bump in it tonight, then hopefully I'll get a good day in it tomorrow.
Then the second coat of stain goes on and all the cracks and misses get fixed. Then I start skirting it and building storage underneath. That'll suck. You guys can come over and do that if you want. I'll supply beer, cigars and food. Whatever it takes. :D

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

bee-you-ti-ful!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

I'm a deck builder and I can tell you that job is par excellence.:tu

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Wow, you da man!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Scott, you are very talented! looks fabulous man

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

I took the tent down and started putting tools away today. I have a few odds and ends left, but those things won't require half the stuff I had out there. So I decided to roll up, and I'll redeploy with the right stuff for phase 2.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

After completing my deck of nearly 700 sq ft myself with 99% of the boards being cut at an angle on both ends, I can assure you how much more time it takes to complete it.

Looks great.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Very nice job, looks awesome...

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Phase 2.a
Then Phase 2.b
Then 2.b.1a
Then ....
Is how most of my biggest projects end up. Here's hoping yous isn't that way.:chr

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

I smell something like that on the horizon. I made sure we could bring the concrete sidewalk around back, but I don't see that happening. Phase 2 is just skirting it and building storage underneath. It's not a big deal, but it'll take some time.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Under Deck storage? Is this where the balls go?

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Just screwed down the last board on this dirty whore. There's some little stuff to do, an evening here, an evening there, but it's nothing that needs bothered with for now.
If I didn't want to do all the extra stuff, it'd just be done. I have to go help the father-in-law with his deck now. That's good, cause I can get reacquainted with my motorcycle for a couple hours a day driving back and forth. :tu

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Looks great man! Awesome work!!!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Sweet deck Scott. About the size of my first house. Congratulations.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Spectacular Scott. My back yard is not big enough for a deck that size.:D

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

We had it all lit up last night, I wish I'd have gotten pics. I'll try to remember to do that tonight.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

I'm coming around the last corner with the skirting. I'm super pleased with how it's turning out.
I had concepted this skirting design in my little brain and it looked super easy. Once I started figuring out how to deploy the idea it got really hard. It required me to work from the front side of the deck and the back side, and it was sheer hell. I put a section in and it didn't do the view-blocking I wanted at all and I was completely stifled as how to math it out so it worked. Plus my whole method of building it sucked.
Then I got sick for about a month. That gave me time to think on how to get this thing done. I figured out how to put up backing so I could do it all by myself from the front side and figured out the depth of the inside boards and height relation to the front boards. I went back out last week, tore out everything I had done, and started fresh.
It worked like a charm. :tu
So I've been picking away at this for the last week, an hour or two here and there. Today I'm hoping I can last long enough to get it all finished up.
Then I have to go to Phase III and replace all the wood that's seeping sap, redo the stair treads by the sliding glass door, and finish around a dryer vent.
Then Phase IV will be to try and dodge raindrops and get the skirting stained, stain the replaced wood, areas I sanded out, and all the cracks between ten million boards.
Phase V will be running electric to all the lighting, putting in a switch outside (or inside), and adding lighting beneath the deck to light up the skirting.
Nothing to it. :D
Here's a couple shots of the skirting...

Side finished on the face...
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/854de732.jpg

Front of the deck finished under the cantilever. You can see how the two layers of 5/4 board work so the air comes right through but you can't see through it...
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/a...a/2900e133.jpg

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

I'm also leaving three sections between the posts "open", meaning I can just pull screws to remove the skirting between posts. Once the wood dries and shrinks up, I can panelize these areas and turn the skirting into swinging doors or easily removable panels.
One area will definately have to swing so the kids can get their bikes out from under the deck without a bunch of grief. I may build a garage door of sorts in that area that will just roll up, or use receding barn-door glides. I can struggle with that later.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Fantastic job building your new deck, It was great to look through and see the progress of your work.

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Awesome looking deck bro!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

That looks too nice compared to your neighbors deck! LOL

Oh, and fingers go BEHIND the lens, not in front. ;)

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

Scott, I am loving the way you finished off the underside walls, looks way better than and open space!

Re: Our deck just showed up.
 

I got all the way around with the skirting and rolled my mess back again. It's supposed to start raining here tomorrow, I'll have to get back on this when it clears up.