Well.. maybe fear is a strong word, perhaps a little silent chuckle is more in order. Anyway, every since getting a workbench magazine last year with a deck redo project, my wife and I have been eyeing this project. Here is a link with the inspiration for this project. We started with this deck on the back of our house. The railing was a bit shabby. It wobbled, and you could get a handfull of splinters by running your hand across the handrail. Here is what we had:
We started by disassembling the entire deck rail, and pulling up a few key deck boards. It is amazing what you can do with a 2 lb mallet and 10 minutes.
It took quite a while to get the posts mounted. I spend extra time making sure they were exactally in line and straight up and down. After all, a mistake here would make the whole thing hard to handle. 2 6" lag bolts on each posts. I had to saddle fit some of the posts so they would be supported on 2 sides. I wanted a sturdy deck.
It was about at this point, I looked at it, and said to my wife. I hate this stain color. I'm pretty sure that daggers would come shooting out of her eyes when I told her that. She had just finished staining lattice for the past 3 1/2 hours. She did not want to hear what I was about to say. Time to paint the whole thing white.
It was about this point in time I couldn't resist taking a picture of my plumber.. err.. I mean my son, picking up some screws I had dropped.
Moving on... We got the handrails installed, making sure those posts were all straight really paid off here. The rails went up pretty quick.
Next I installed the back frame for a lattice screen.
Here is the screen installed, the upper railing, and the pergola installed. The pergola was attached to the house with 2-6" lag screws on each point of the house. Screwed into a supporting beam on the side of the house.
Here is a view ready for the final paint job.
Next.. the final painting in progress.
I did get the whole thing painted, along with the lower deck beam, were the old rails attached. But it was too dark to get a picture. Stay tuned tomorrow for final pictures.
Deck builders fear me? I think not. I'm done with this. It took me 2 full weekends to assemble this deck. I am quite pleased with the finished product. I can't wait for tomorrow to get some final pictures. There are more pictures in my gallery. Sort it by filename to get a timeline of the pictures. Thanks for looking. Check back again tomorrow night for pictures of the finishe product.
We started by disassembling the entire deck rail, and pulling up a few key deck boards. It is amazing what you can do with a 2 lb mallet and 10 minutes.
It took quite a while to get the posts mounted. I spend extra time making sure they were exactally in line and straight up and down. After all, a mistake here would make the whole thing hard to handle. 2 6" lag bolts on each posts. I had to saddle fit some of the posts so they would be supported on 2 sides. I wanted a sturdy deck.
It was about at this point, I looked at it, and said to my wife. I hate this stain color. I'm pretty sure that daggers would come shooting out of her eyes when I told her that. She had just finished staining lattice for the past 3 1/2 hours. She did not want to hear what I was about to say. Time to paint the whole thing white.
It was about this point in time I couldn't resist taking a picture of my plumber.. err.. I mean my son, picking up some screws I had dropped.
Moving on... We got the handrails installed, making sure those posts were all straight really paid off here. The rails went up pretty quick.
Next I installed the back frame for a lattice screen.
Here is the screen installed, the upper railing, and the pergola installed. The pergola was attached to the house with 2-6" lag screws on each point of the house. Screwed into a supporting beam on the side of the house.
Here is a view ready for the final paint job.
Next.. the final painting in progress.
I did get the whole thing painted, along with the lower deck beam, were the old rails attached. But it was too dark to get a picture. Stay tuned tomorrow for final pictures.
Deck builders fear me? I think not. I'm done with this. It took me 2 full weekends to assemble this deck. I am quite pleased with the finished product. I can't wait for tomorrow to get some final pictures. There are more pictures in my gallery. Sort it by filename to get a timeline of the pictures. Thanks for looking. Check back again tomorrow night for pictures of the finishe product.
