I am glad that the deck building phase is complete. Looking back, it is fun to reminisce looking at some of the photos; but it is my hope that some of the articles I published will also help others who are considering either rebuilding their deck, or building a new one.

Dave and Bill are very experienced carpenters, and it showed during the construction process. For example, once the layout for the South landing was complete, the post footings poured and the posts set, Dave would tackle the rest of the build:

Dave at work on South landing.

Meanwhile, Bill would be drilling holes for the screws, prior to attaching spindles to the railing in completed sections of the deck:

Bill, drilling spindles.

Every rail was attached with screws, using rail hangers; and every spindle was beveled to match the angle of the railing, which was usually 30°:

Rail hangers, and spindle details.

We  like the new patio just outside the Family Room. Sandy suggested that the deck above it would help keep the pavers cool in the Summer; they sure did, especially during days when the thermometer hit 99°F:

The patio area under deck extension.

In areas where the land was steep, rock on top of landscape fabric will not only keep weeds out, but also will help prevent erosion, as water can easily flow between the large rocks:

The South landing area near living room.

Brackets were used to minimize movement of the 2″ x 12″ joists during the build of the 18 x 20 foot deck area in front of the kitchen and above the patio:

Joist brackets.

Bill’s tool pouch atop a bunch of spindles during lunch break — it carries just about all the hand tools and a large amount of screws needed during the build:

Bill's tool pouch.

Each and every spindle, 864 total, was installed making sure it was perfectly vertical:

Installing spindles: every spindle is vertical.

The next two photos show the dramatic change between the old deck and the new one. The first photo shows the area after demolishing the landing at poolside:

The old deck landing area near the pool.

From the same angle, the new deck shows the improvements:

The new deck landing area by the pool.

As I mentioned above, the deck just outside the kitchen is an enlarged deck; we look forward to enjoying this new area (and the shaded area below, where the new patio is located):

The deck "extension" in front of the kitchen.

Thanks for sticking with me this far. Now I will struggle to get back to a regular routine, as several projects in the shop await me. We will also start preparations to attend Woodworking in America in Cincinnati in early October.

— Al Navas

As we started the deck build, we felt it was of paramount importance to maintain access from the kitchen, the dining room, and the living room to the pool area. It was also important to keep easy access from the garage area to the swimming pool, or to the shed where we keep many gardening tools. Easy access to the heat pumps was very important, as the repair technicians use the deck to keep their instruments clean, and within easy reach (no mud!) as they do necessary repairs.

For example, the old deck, shown in this photo shortly after demolition started, shows the heat pumps on the far right, and the deck within arms’ reach:

Old deck, from pool to garage.

In the new deck, we dedicated one gate to each heat pump; in the following view, each gate opens right-to-left and into the deck, such that the person servicing the units can easily walk toward the garage, located at the upper-right in the following photo:

New deck, from pool to garage.

The previous photo also shows a 100 square-foot landing area on the bottom deck section. The set of stairs visible to the near side opens into the backyard area; at the far end, another set of stairs leads to the patio, under the deck extension shown at the top-left in the photo above.

This next photo shows the stairway access from just outside the kitchen area, down to the pool area:

Stairway from kitchen to pool area.

At the far South end of the deck, another stairway leads from the living room area to the pool:

Two stairs to pool area.

A nice detail in the next photo, also shown in the photo above, is the enclosed back side of the stairway from the kitchen to pool-side. It was important to do this, as this “finishes” the stairs, as viewed from the patio area:

Enclosed back of stairs.

Earlier I mentioned the access gates to the heat pumps. The following photo shows the gates, one in front of each heat pump – from the deck, each gate opens toward the deck, left-to-right, leaving the deck unobstructed to run to the driveway to retrieve needed tools:

Gates in new section, in front of heat pumps.

I made the gates, using mortise & tenon joinery created on the Leigh FMT jig. To minimize the risk of water damaging the end grain, I designed the rails to extend the entire width of the gates, and used drawboring to maximize the life of the gates outdoors:

Detail of gate latch, and drawboring on mortise & tenon.

For smooth operation of the gates I selected the largest heavy-duty hinges I could find at the home building store:

Huge hinges on gates.

The actual deck build phase ended yesterday. All that remains is the installation of lattice on the North side of the deck, to minimize the build-up of leaves under the more inaccessible portions of the deck. The lattice will be installed over ½-inch “rabbit hutch” wire mesh, to further reduce leaves.

As we have started using the deck, we have found that access to all areas of the pool and to the rest of the backyard is key to enjoyment of the surrounding pool and yard area.

— Al Navas

I have not published a blog entry since August 16. I have been too tired at the end of long days to do much writing; about the only thing I have managed to do is snap some photos of the deck build. I did manage to pretty much keep up with the spraying of the sealer on all the cedar boards used to build the deck — every single board! To say I was tired at the end of every day is redundant. Typically, the days started for me at 5 AM sharp, as I had to be ready for Dave (the Contractor) and Bill (Dave’s helper), who built the deck; my job duties were limited to spraying sealer on every surface of each board; and also making occasional truck/trailer runs to Menards for more cedar and anchor bolts, and concrete and additional concrete bags for footers, and deck screws; and to Lowe’s (on a few occasions) to buy some hardware. In between we had days when the coolest temperature was 90°F, and highest was 99°F, with heat index as high as 115°F. Only in the last few days have the temperatures returned to sub-90°F. The house, at 74°F, feels plain chilly…

As I write this it is Monday, September 6 (the Labor Day holiday in the U.S., for my readers in the rest of the world); it is also the two-month mark since starting the “refurbish” of the old deck. If you follow the blog, you have read several articles about the findings early on; the deck truly needed a complete rebuild. And if you have just started reading the blog, you can catch up quickly, as this article and a few short ones in the next few days will give you complete details of what has transpired.

As work started, we learned that total replacement was needed; the damage to the structural members and much of the flooring was extreme.

Today I can summarize the deck condition in the following two photos. First, looking toward the Northwest, and showing a bit of the stairway at the extreme South end:

Looking toward the Northwest.

The following photo shows deck with a little detail of the extension just outside the kitchen and over the patio just outside the Family Room; in the upper level, making the turn, and heading straight West, is the wrap-around deck that goes toward the garage, and ends just past the mud room door; and a lower, stepped deck, starting in a huge landing at the pool area, and ending just outside the garage:

Looking West.

In the next two or three articles I will describe each part of this 1,600-square foot (approximate area) deck in detail. As we prepared for this work, I read on the Internet as much as I could, in the two weeks leading to awarding the contract. I will discuss details of the work, and will also publish photos, hoping that our deck replacement will help someone else who is right now also considering doing the same thing.

Dave and Bill have done an outstanding job. I will be glad to provide a written recommendation, if anyone in the region is interested in using their services.

A couple of teasers (the last two photos in the following gallery):

— Al Navas