Deck Remodel: Day 13 (Friday) COMPLETE!

The deck... she's complete! The final rails are in place, the trim work is done and the deck is looking fabulous. I looked back at the before pictures and can say that this deck needed the refresh so badly!

With the new steps (which are gorgeous), I have already been down to the patio more times that I did all last year. I am most certain that we will use that space more frequently than ever before. Need to buy some furniture to enables its use (and may buy a fountain), but no hurry on that. May wait until things go on sale in the fall, though it would be a shame to lose the summertime though - so will need to balance the two.

The crew pressure washed the patio and got it looking good - taking out all the old "grout" (aka moss and other growth in the crevices). All looking good now - not sure if they are coming back today or on Monday to brush the stabilizer sand into the patio and walkway. It'll look good when they are done.

Overall, a big expense, but I think that it adds significantly to the look and function of our outdoor space. Here are some other angles of our latest masterpiece - click to see larger images.

Time to get our deck furniture back up on the deck and some of the planters back too.

Jeff left me quite a few TimerTech scraps that will make nice birdhouses... these things will last FOREVER!

Deck Remodel: Day 12 (Thursday)

Thursday weather was better than I had anticipated. The new ungrooved boards arrived as hoped and the team was able to complete most of the railings and stairs. Stair posts were covered and the angled rails were put in place. Only a few minor railing pieces left - my guess is that they ran out of mounting hardware for the rails, so they will try to get that tomorrow (maybe?). Also seem to be missing one cap somehow too.



The team started to clean up the patio and walkway a little - perhaps will be a day of pressure washing coming up with a little stabilizer sand.

Deck Remodel: Day 11 (Wednesday)

Crew mounted railings between the posts today. They were not here when we arrived home, so must have run out of work. They could not continue as the stair posts are awaiting the finished, ungrooved boards for the final steps. Once they are in place, the post sleeves can be affixed and the railing finished up.

I anticipate I will receive a note from the owner tonight letting me know what is going on. I believe that the weather is supposed to be bad tomorrow (rain/thunder), so may not really lose a real working day.

Deck Remodel: Day 10 (Tuesday)

As expected, lots of progress on Day 10. Decking has been completed, with the exception of the stair treads that await ungrooved material (to be delivered later this week).

All but the stair posts were sleeved today, which is not as simple as dropping the sleeve over the post, slipping on the base molding and slapping a cap on the top. Each requires shimming the inside of the top and bottom to insure a tight and aligned fit that will stay firmly in place. Not sure why TimberTech doesn't make the inside fit more snugly against a standard 4x4, but perhaps they cannot simultaneously make it snug without creating installation issues caused by normal variation in 4x4 thickness.








Here are a few other perspectives on the deck.

Standing at the west end looking east toward the sunrise.






One from the east end of the top looking down at the stairs.








And one from the patio looking more straight at the deck.

Next stop will be railing, which I will likely see today. All coming together.

Deck Remodel: Day 9 (Monday)

Day 9 passed with many significant changes. The list follows:

(1) Attached stair stringers to concrete pads
(2) Added more 4x4 posts to bottoms of stairs and landings
(3) Began laying decking on landings and deck

This next photo is a view from standing on the deck and peering over the edge looking down toward the patio and the new set of stairs.



Picture 3 is of the top of the deck - looking from the existing stairs (near walkway)- facing west. As you can see, boards are being cut and fastened, with lots of loose boards near the family room side of the deck.

The crew is using invisible fasteners (see picture 4) and stainless steel screws to hold them in place. They are also gluing the boards down at the joists to make sure that they are completely tight. Finally, they shim under the very end of the boards to make sure that they are level with the border decking.



As you can see from this closeup of the fasteners, they are little plastic, oval biscuit looking things. They are screwed to each joist and the rounded part of each biscuit helps lock the grooved board to the deck. They provide uniform spacing and a very secure attachment. It takes three men to get the boards in place efficiently. Between running the screw gun, levering the board into place and applying glue and holding the fasteners in place, it is a multi handed job to say the least.



All seems to be going well - weather looks to be favorable for the the next few days. I expect all decking to be completed tomorrow and maybe starting the railings -they (crew of 5) worked until almost 6PM today, so another good day like today should get them pretty far.

The stair treads won't be complete until later this week as they need to receive another shipment of ungrooved decking.

Exciting to see such progress - would be much slower if done by my two hands! Also nice to finally be able to pace around on my new deck surface. They are shooting for completion by the end of the week... stay tuned!!

Deck Remodel: Day 8 (Friday)

Just got home and checked out the deck. The crew began laying down some decking and trimming out the edge of the deck and the steps. They also installed the inner part of the tred and riser trim as well.

All starting to shape up and I expect the next full day of work will result in significant decking being laid out.

Then I should be able to walk about more easily and the focus will shift to the railings.

I really like the decking material - very expensive, but looks good. Hard to tell from the pictures, but the material is textured nicely and has a mix of colors in it that make it look more like wood.

Not expecting the team to be back on site tomorrow - looks like all their tools have been picked up for the week. Not sure how many workers are on this job, so hard to tell how efficient they are being. Regardless, they seem to be doing a good, quality job.

Deck Remodel: Day 7 (Thursday)

Just got home and checked out the progress.

Deck crew did lots of work today -
(1) Got the composite trim boards down to the patio
(2) Cut and mounted the posts
(3) Added blocking for the deck and landings
(4) Finished up the structure of the stair landings
(5) Cut some trim boards to create risers for the stairs
(6) Brought in more red stones for the pathway

All starting to shape up nicely.

Update: Just went outside and noticed that the trim boards being used for risers are splitting in half (thickness-wise) for some reason - they are ripping them to the proper width. Hmmm... not sure if this will be an issue, but it does seem like an odd thing to occur. May not be a problem when they are nailed to the risers. I will be mentioning this to the contractor to see why this is happening - may need a less aggressive table saw blade.

Deck Remodel: Day 6 (Wednesday)

Day 6 and the team was back at it. A longer day today as the weather was more agreeable.

Team made and installed stringers for all steps and built the landings for the large stairs. Gosh - I didn't realize how difficult making these steps really is! It is like two mini-decks that need to be carefully positioned to allow proper placement of the stairs. All appears to be laid out nicely.

Deck Remodel: Day 5 (Tuesday)

Crew trucked in red stones for the walkway, tamping down and leveling. Also built some part of the stair landings. Mostly spent time on the stones. Also created another cement pad for the walkway set of stairs.

Had to stop a bit early due to torrential downpour.

Deck Remodel: Day 4 (Monday)

Weather was nice and on the way to work we passed the team headed to our house - they must have arrived at about 8:15.

Things that were done today include:

(1) Setting of eight 4x4 posts
(2) Extend the height of the rock walls a little
(3) Begin cleaning up the pathway to the lower door
(4) Pour the cement landing for the upper set of stairs

I think they are prepped and ready to begin constructing the skeleton of the steps tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing how the landings all lay out.

Deck Remodel: Day 3 (Friday)

The crew arrived at about 7:30AM on Friday. They dug in (literally), coring deep and large diameter footings for the multi-landing staircase - 8 holes in all! The team transported the load of pressure treated wood and cement from the driveway to the work site area too. Finally, they filled in the pond and cemented a landing for the future set of steps. Prior to the digging, they used a transit and several construction lines to lay out the multi-landing stairs.

The more I watched, the more glad I was that this job was contracted out... what these guys accomplished in 10 minutes would easily take one person, at least an hour. They were hustling most of the day too, which would be a difficult pace to maintain for any single person.

Weather this week is supposed to be very good, so I anticipate that their progress will be significant over the coming days. Here's the stack of decking, rails (in cartons) and 12" wide, composite trim boards.

Deck Remodel: Day 2

Slow day today... crew was busy on another job. More materials delivered - PT lumber for the new stairs. Owner did come by to measure and lay out the deck and steps.

After the torrential rains last night, the pond was once again full to the brim and needed to be pumped out.

Full crew expected to be back in the morning to begin footings and decking.

Weather permitting, there should be much more activity tomorrow. Will post details when I can --- probably Sunday.

Rain, Rain Go Away...

Not light out right now, so this picture is not from here, but I imagine it would be at least this rainy. It is absolutely pouring outside! National Weather Service Advisory has been issued and the pounding on the roof woke me up from a sound sleep... gonna feel this tomorrow at work.

Anyway, good for the lawn (which needs mowing, but will need to wait), but not the best for working on decks and digging footings. We'll see if it subsides enough to get some work done by the crew. Maybe a little rain doesn't bother them.

Deck Remodel: Day 1

So after only one day, my back yard has been partially transformed. Amazing amount of work these guys did in one, single day.

Here's a list of the most significant changes:

(1) Decking and railing torn off and completely gone - not in a dumpster, gone from my property!

(2) Pond drained, fish and frogs moved (he claims), plants pulled out and pond liner removed. Plants were so grown together that his guys got absolutely filthy digging these things out. Owner says he gave his workers each $50 dollars to go buy new pants and shirts.

(3) Two small retaining walls built - these pictures do not do them justice. They are nicer and bigger than they look here.

(4) Pond partially filled in with stones. Stopped to allow them to work on footings and landing for the stairs.



My guess is that things will appear to go more slowly now... they are going to work on pouring footings for the new stairs tomorrow. Not sure how far they will get, but we'll see.



Huge pile of expensive decking and railings in my driveway - hope it is still there when they need it. Doesn't look like it would completely cover this expansive deck, but time will tell. I'll get a photo of that tomorrow... might need it for the insurance company!

Deck Remodel: Before

So here it is... the deck remodel project. It includes tearing the decking, rails and stairs off the existing and replacing with composite decking and railing and making a new set of stairs that can reach the patio.



Additionally, the walkway under the deck leading to the basement door is being repaired, two small retaining walls being made and a fish pond filled in (too much work, don't ask!). Also, power washing and resanding the patio and walkway as well. Keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck.



So here's how it all started... I'll give progress as things move along.