WOW! Another Deck

My wife said "You must like building Decks!"

I guess I do, or at least that is what I am good at. I choose to build a deck ramp rather than use interlocking stone (it was a consideration) because it fit better with the look of the retaining wall, was easier, and fit with the approach used at the EDGE.

I am sure the project was much faster than learning how to do interlocking stone, likely less expensive and heck, I can do these in my sleep.

We have a bit of a water problem just outside of the bottom gazebo of the Cottage.  A water problem.  Not all the time as the eaves trough seem to be able to handle the volume most of the time.

But this spring and again in the summer we have had some massive rain storms which dumped more water than the eaves can handle.  The result was a lot of water falling through the deck and creating a river that washes sand on to the bottom deck.

The solution was to build a retaining wall to direct the water away from the deck and to eventually place some weeping tile to direct the water.

So a couple of weekends ago I built what you see:  a retaining wall and a new deck.  The deck is more of a ramp from the gazebo out to the top of the stairs that take you down to the lake.

The project is not quite finished as I need to put in the weeping tile which will be installed outside of the the retaining wall and under the new deck ramp.

Coming Up: 
In an upcoming post I will update you on the progress of the drainage system I put in.
;-)

Building Stair Landings the Easy Way

Our stairway from the cottage to the lake consists of 104 steps and eight landings.  Building stairs like this is complicated by the terrain and  the grade.  Simply said it is a real pain in the butt!

I devised a way to build landings that is very safe yet much easier to do than digging holes for sonotubes and dragging down buckets of concrete by hand.  I use four post spikes per landing - one in each corner.

While any brand of post spike will likely work I discovered a type of post spike (sometimes called a ground spike) where the top swivels.  This swiveling capability makes the whole approach work fabulously as it makes up for the inaccuracy of the installation process.  Driving the post spikes in to the right location to match the dimensions of the landing is an inexact science at best.  Sometimes the spike will just not drive down in the location you need it to because there is a buried stone in the way.  At other times it will twist as you drive it in to the ground.  All these ills are mitigated by the swiveling action of the post spike. In most cases the direction of the post can be turned and twisted to match up with the superstructure of the landing.

My Process goes something like this:

Step 1:  Build the super structure for the landing.  Most of my landings were 3x3 feet, 4x4-feet or 6x6-feet square so I would begin by building the superstructure of the landing but NOT install the floor (top) of the landing.

Step 2:  Use the landing supper structure to determine where the post spikes need to be placed.  I plumb bob is really handy for determining the location.

Step 3:  Drive the post spikes in place.  I would install one then temporarily install on post and recheck my placement for the next post spike and then drive it home.  I would continue this process untill all four post spikes are in place.

Step 4:  Install the posts.  Starting with the uphill posts, measure, cut and install the posts into their respective post spike.  A level comes in real handy during this process to level the posts as well determine the level of the landing so that you can determine the length of each post.  When this step is complete, all the posts are cut to size, installed in the post spikes and the landing is lying around the posts.

Step 5:  Install the landing.  Using a level attach the landing to the top of the posts.

NOTE:  Sometimes I just installed the posts in the spike and to the landing and then cut them off afterwards with a Saws-all

Step 6:  Secure the posts to the post spikes.  This generally requires a wrench and a few nails.

Step 7: Install the flooring on the landing.

Step 8:  Get two beers, sit on the landing, and enjoy your handiwork with your helper - yes you will need a second pair of hands to build the landing!

NOTE: The posts usually are secured on the inside of the landing, however, in the landing above they were installed on the outside of the landing superstructure.  This is because I removed a previously built landing and reused it.  In reusing the landing it was easier to install the posts on the outside.

Related Posts:  
Reconstructing the Stairs to the Lake: Part 1
Reconstructing the Stairs to the Lake: Part 2
39 Steps... Heck no we have 104!

;-)

Lattice Creates a Finished Look

While not an urgent thing the empty space under the deck surrounding the cottage always looked out of place (for me anyway).
I installed lattice on the deck superstructure everywhere the deck was not at least 6 foot high.  It just completes the aesthetics of the cottage and hides away the bottom part of the concrete walls under the deck.
I choose cedar lattcice for the following reasons:

• Cedar so it would weather the same way as the rest of the deck
• Lattice so the air would move freely under the deck, and thus not be a temptation for animals to use it as a home
• it was inexpensive

Do you agree with me that it finishes the Cottage?

;-)

A New Addition to the Guest Bunkie

I have a fondness for the bunkie...  It was the first livable structure that I built after the stairs down to the dock, has some great memories associated with it, and it served admirably as living quarters while the main cottage was being built. 

But it did have one annoying feature - the porch on the front was just a pain in the neck to use because it was so small - and I suggest ultimately dangerous.  Plus the was not cover from the elements so the door was taking some abuse from the rain - I just could never get a screen door to last more than a season before it got damaged in some way.

So I re-built the porch this Fall and added a roof. Now there is plenty of room to maneuver on th e porch - in fact more than one person can now actually stand on the deck of the porch.  Luggage and supplies can easily be place on the porch deck from the stairway rather than trekking them all the way down to the lower deck and then up the stairs to the bunkie. 

Not one for immediate aesthetics I reused as much of the lumber from the previous deck to save on cost for the project.  The result is a bit of a mismatch on the colour of the wood in various places -- but give it a year or two and all will be that glorious grey weathered look.  The lattice work was left over material from latice used on the main cottage deck.

Next Spring I intend to add a screen door.  There is also a bit of work left inside the bunkie itself - but that will have to wait until next Spring as well.  There is a bed up in the loft so a retractable ladder needs to be built. Plus all the trim work including baseboards and molding around the windows was never completed in the initial building project - isn't that always the case...

Our plans include bringing clean water down to the bunkie, and an outdoor shower (solar heated of course).  Combined with the nearby outhouse the bunkie can be a private, self-contained vacation get-away.  We are hoping that it will perhaps provide a bit of revenue.
;-)

A Deck Built for Partying...

With the leaves down for the winter, pictures from beneath the cottage - from the lakeside - show a lot more of the cottage.

This picture provides an excellent view of the wrap-around deck with the gazebo in the middle.

...and it is truly built for partying. Lots of people can stand confidently on this deck. It was built using 6"x6" posts, plus a 8"x8" post to support the main beam under the gazebo. All the joists are 2"x10" lumber - attached with joist hangers. The main beam was laminated from four pieces of 1.75"x12" LVL.

The beauty of this deck is it provides for two levels of protected 'partying'. One off the main floor and a second under it. The lower area will have an interlocking stone floor.

As you see it now, the construction on the deck is postponed for the winter. Coming in the spring will be while vinyl clad railings, vinyl cladding for all the posts, and likely white aluminum covering of the beams under the roof.

Related Posts:
Pressure-Treated Wood Posts -Jul 23, 2008

Ledger Board - Getting all Decked Out... - Jul 23, 2008

Installing the Bathroom Exhaust Vents - Nov 01, 2008

Labour Day... Chill'n with a Beer on the Deck

;-)

Snow and the impact on Cottage Construction

The snow, and winter is here... It is irrelevant if the season is called Fall..

This picture was actually taken two weekends ago now, so you can imagine that there is a bit more snow on the ground today. In fact I was speaking by telephone with the building inspector up at Otter Lake yesterday and he stated there was about four inches on the ground.

Outside Work is done for this Year!
Last weekend we attempted to do some work outside - it was freezing! At this time of year the snow is damp and which means your gloves become instantly wet and cold... So we did what we could to finish the decking on the front porch and then spent the rest of the time storing the construction materials and covering them.

The remainder of the exterior construction work for the deck, siding, and landscaping will now all be tasks for the Spring.

Related Posts:

Labour Day... Chill'n with a Beer on the Deck - Sep 01, 2008

;-)

The Cottage: Finished for the Winter

I mentioned in a previous post that we are done for the winter.

While construction continues inside, and very soon that will be complete, there is a bunch we did not get complete outside before the snow started to fly.

This picture was taken about two weeks ago and already there was snow falling - you can see some on the roof.

Coming Up:
From the angle it is clear that a number of things will need to be completed next year including: the deck and finishing of the posts/railings and beams; the siding under the deck and on the lakeside of the cottage, and the landscaping.

Related Posts:

;-)

Building Smart - order is Important!

With good planning it was easy to reach spots like the main floor walls or even the roof without having to use ladders or even scaffolding.

Here the completed deck substructure covered with some spare pieces of plywood served as a ready-made scaffold. This allowed us to move around quicker and to use stepladders rather than extension ladders or scaffolding.

Where getting even higher was necessary, just adding one layer of scaffold was all that was needed.

Hanging on at 45 Degrees

Part of the deck is at a 45 degree angle to the Cottage. This means that the deck joists will be at a 45 degree angle to the ledger board. hence standard joist hangers, at 90 degrees, just won't work.

The solution is to use joist hangers that have a 45 degree angle. The picture illustrates the ones that we used. These were actually made of heavier material than the standard 90 degree ones.

You probably have noticed that these hangers seem a bit smaller - and they are. Technically the 45 degree hangers I used are for 6- and 8-inch joists, so I shouldn't be using them solely to hold the 2x10 joists. To strengthen the joint I added three 3.5-inch framing nails above the joist hangers.

The material on the deck is temporary decking of plywood so that we could use the deck to access the main floor walls, assemble the gazebo trusses and install the tyvek.

Beam me up Scotty!

Pardon the Star Trek phrase...

The deck for the gazebo is sixteen feet in diameter, and to create a clear space under the deck - with no supporting beams in the middle - the major beam under the center of the deck needs to be almost sixteen feet long.

That calls for one massive beam and the supporting posts to support it. With a deck this size a lot of people could be on the deck at the same time - like 20 or 30 or more...

We laminated the beam using four engineered LVL beams. Each beam was 1.75 inched thick, 12 inches high, 15 feet 8 inched long, and was supported at either end by an 8" x 8" pressure treated post.

The external end of the beam is secured to the post using steel straps (missing from the picture) as well as to the two adjacent posts on either side via a beam connected with a joist hanger.

The cottage side of the beam will also be secured to its post using steel straps (missing from the picture). The post rests on a concrete pad buried four feet in to the ground, and is secured to the cottage framing using countersunk eight-inch lag screws.

Pressure-Treated Wood Posts

A portion of the roof, that over the gazebo, is supported by gigantic posts. The posts we are using are 6"x6" by 20 foot pressure-treated posts. These posts are supported at the bottom by concrete piers and extend through the deck off the main floor, and support the roof over the deck.

In the pictures you can see six pressure-treated ( the green coloured posts) posts: five 6x6 posts and one 8x8 post.

The 8x8 post is required for a special purpose. It is used for supporting another huge laminated beam - like that used inside the cottage to support the floor joists - except here it is used to support the deck joists.

These posts are massive. It takes at least two of my strong strapping sons to move them! The task of righting them on to the concrete piers was a difficult one.

Here is how we got them up:

1. First we carried each post to its respective concrete pier
2. A hole was drilled in one end of the post. This hole was a 3/4 hole which is just enough to allow the pin sticking out of the concrete pier to fit. The pin serves to keep the post in place.
   
3. Then we cut a piece of asphalt shingle to fit the top of the concrete pier. The asphalt shingle serves to insulate the wood post from the concrete pier thus preventing water or moisture from entering the wood. This is just like a the sill gasket we described in an earlier post to isolated the wood walls from the concrete footings or concrete wall separates the p
   
4. The end of the post with the pin hole was positioned so that as we raised the post the pin would enter the hole.
5. Then comes the tough part... Three of us - through shear muscle power - raised the post, using various assisting tools like rope and 12-foot lengths of 2x4.
   
6. Once raised into a vertical position we leveled and secured the post temporarily. Our main securing technique was to use 12- or 16-foot lengths of 2x4 to either attach the post to a nearby object like a previously secured post or the cottage itself. We would generally use two supports set at 90 degrees to temporarily secure the post. If we didn't have an object to secure it two then we would use two 2x4's set on either side of the post as about 45 degrees set in to the ground.
7. Once the work of leveling and the post was temporarily secured, it was time for a break!
8. Permanent securing consisted of connecting the post to the adjacent post using a 2-ply 2x10 beam, and then, securing it to the ledger board on the Cottage using a 2x10 joist. In this way the post was completely tied into the deck substructure.
9. This process was repeated for every post, securing post after post until the entire deck skeletal substructure was completed.
10. Once the skeleton of the deck substructure was in place then we measured out and installed joists on a 16-inch center-on-center pattern.
11. The whole process was repeated again at the very top of the posts for the posts that extended the full 20 feet. This set of beams formed the structure on which the roof would be secured.

Hence, the two-story posts were secured in three places:

• At the bottom by the pins from the concrete piers
• at the middle by the deck substructure, and
• at the top by the beams forming the support for the gazebo roof.
  

The remainder of the posts of the deck substructure only extended to the deck. Actually the posts extend three feet beyond the top of the deck so as to provide posts to which the railing will be attached.

Stay tuned: in a future post I will provide pictures of the deck substructure and the completed deck, with the gazebo...

Ledger Board - Getting all Decked Out...

There is a deck that surrounds about 50% of the Cottage. It starts with the porch on the front and goes all the way around the side to the lakeside.

The first step in building the deck is attaching a ledger board to the Cottage. The purpose of the ledger board is to support one end of the joists that support the deck boards.

It is important that the ledger board be attached to an element on the Cottage framing that can actually support the weight of the deck and the anticipated weight of the occupants on the deck. This is usually the floor structure of the first floor - and is exactly what we did!

The ledger board is attached using lag bolts- we used 1/2 inch lags bolts that were 6 inch long in most places and 8 inched in length in a few key places. Two lag bolts positions about 2 inched from the top and the bottom of the ledger where placed approximately every 2 feet.

The following tricks made that process easier:

• Drill a pilot hole for each lag bolt- this make the driving these in much easier if you are doing them by hand
• Be sure to use the biggest socket ratchet you have - the more leverage you have the easier it will be
• Better still if you have a air compressor use an impact wrench - you know the thing that mechanics use to put the nuts on your car wheels.
• Measure out where the joists will go, and adjust where the lag bolts should go as to not interfere with the joist hangers.

This was a time consuming job, because although I do have a compressor, I had forgotten to borrow my son's (he is the family mechanic) impact wrench. With 70 lag bolts to put in it took two of us, my wife and I about 6 hours to twist them all in...

Once they lag screws are in we started the framing of the deck superstructure, which consists of 6" x 6" posts and 2" x 10" lumber for joists and beams.

As the example in the picture illustrates:

• 4" x 10" beams were built between each of the posts (3) and between the two posts at each end and the ledger board. These beams were built up from two pieces of 2" x 10" lumber.
  
• a single 2 x 10 was used between the ledger and the middle posts.

Double and single joist hangers made the job of securing the beams and joists very easy. In fact we built the beams, nailed ( and cinched the nails) and installed the joist hangers prior installing them between the posts.

You can just barely see the metal parts used. The joist hangers between the beams and posts, and the post saddles used to secure the posts to the concrete piers on which they sit. A post saddle is a formed metal plate, which is embedded into concrete, used to hold the bottom of a post secure.

The whole process requires a level to make sure:

• the posts are perfectly vertical
• the beams and joists are perfectly horizontal AND the tops of them are at the same height as the top of the ledger board.

Throw in a square just to make sure the joists and beams a perfectly square (that is 90 degrees) to the ledger board, and voila we have the deck framed and ready for the deck boards.

COMING UP: Lots more on the deck after this weekend!