Roddie's new deck-Spring 2019

roddie Wed Jun 19, 2019 7:19 pm

The 12' x 20" deck attached to the back of our house was in desperate need of attention.. with some flooring-sections rotted worse than others. The previous owners had added-onto an aged small platform and that aged-section was in the center.. and also where the kitchen "slider" door access is. The decking felt "spongy" when walking out onto the deck from the kitchen sliding-door.

Lynne found a contractor through home advisors .com

The guy had great reviews.. and he owned-up to them on our project.. from his prompt estimation, through the finish.

The existing deck was to be demo'd and duplicated, with the addition of a raised-platform extending-out to our above-ground swimming-pool.. and also the addition of lockable-gates atop the stairs from the lawn access (x2).

Photos..

The two gate-additions were initially satisfactory..

The gate atop the stairs leading-up from the driveway incorporates a single/free-standing 4" x 4" post for the latch. The gates' construction lent itself to "warping" (which it did..) and the free-standing 4" x 4" post for this gate-latch was not as "solid" as the one atop the other set of stairs; having a latch-post supported by a railing and its' associated framework. Operating this gate-latch proved to be "high-effort"

See this pic again..

We got an UNBELIEVABLE deal on the work that was done.. so rather than bother the contractor with "come-back" issues.. I decided to make my own adjustments to the problem-gate.

I had some 3/16" stranded SS cable, turnbuckles, thimbles and clamps... all I needed was two "screw-eyes". A couple of bucks spent at my local "Lee-Way"/True-Value dealer on the needed hardware, solved the problem.

**Cribbs74** Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:00 pm

Hey! Nice deck. Now stop deflecting and run that E- Liminator

roddie Wed Jun 19, 2019 9:19 pm

Cribbs74 wrote:Hey! Nice deck. Now stop deflecting and run that E- Liminator

I'm gonna' run the car again Ron. Lynne's been sick with some kind of viral thing similar to the "flu". She's had a fever (102+ degrees) "on and off"/"up and down" for the past 36 hours. What?

The weather here is forecast to be rainy most of the week. This early-evening was really nice/calm.. and I could have run the car.. but other priorities took precedence.

rsv1cox Thu Jun 20, 2019 6:44 am

A really nice job on that deck Roddie. I would be very proud of it.

But you need a crossbar on the diagonal (corner to lower corner) on that gate to keep it square with a screw into each upright. Without it over time it will sag although the frame looks pretty substantial.

Bob

getback Thu Jun 20, 2019 7:11 am

Great looking deck Roddie , that will get you to the pool in a hurry ! As Bob suggested some kind of bracing on those gates will make it easier down the road / i see a wheel there to keep it up and that too will leave you a path were it opens and closes ( i have seen ruts as the door falls down ) Sad

Hope Lynne gets better soon its always tough when one is down and out ... Here's a pic of something

fredvon4 Thu Jun 20, 2019 8:49 am

FAST recovery prayers for Lynne

roddie Thu Jun 20, 2019 6:57 pm

fredvon4 wrote:FAST recovery prayers for Lynne

Thank you Phred.. You've been on my mind daily and prayers said for you my friend.

roddie Wed Apr 03, 2024 12:09 pm

I've posted photos previously of the Edison style incandescent string-lamps that we have around the perimeter of our decking.

There's a total of 56 lamps. At 7 watts/ea. equals 392w when lit.. and we were burning them every night.. for at least 3-4 hours. You can imagine what that was costing us.. Shocked