Gilbey's Deck Rebuild - Take 2

[Gilbey]

I documented a deck rebuild at my old house 5 years ago. Last year we moved, and the almost 30 year old deck was showing it's age. The decking was sagging in areas, the cedar railing was unsafe in areas, the steps were not ideal. I took Friday off to start the renovation project. The decking is Timbertech with their Radiance Rail railing. I will be moving the steps to open up the area underneath and make room for a firepit area. 

 

Last time I did this, I had some of my sons around to help. Fast forward 5 years, and I am working almost completely solo on a large, second floor deck. It's a LOT of work, but I made good progress this weekend. 

 

Prior to demo I should have taken pics before we removed all the overgrown vegetation. The old decking was a weird interlocking material which I can only assume was selected to try to keep the patio area under the deck dry in the rain. 

 

Friday was all demo. I got the railings removed and started tearing up decking, board by board, screw by painstaking screw. Many were rusted and broke. My back was NOT happy after Friday!

Saturday I finished pulling up the rest of the decking. The old deck had some low spots, and it became obvious that 7-8 joists were sagging badly. I am not sure if it was the weight of the deck or if the joists just weren't crowned properly?? I spent 6 hours Saturday afternoon replacing floor joists. Managing 16 foot  2 x 10 joists on a second floor deck was a bear alone. But I got them done. 

 

Sunday I replaced a section of rim joist and set all the railing posts. Again, cutting them, one by one on the ground, hauling them up to the deck and installing them on my own was a slow slog, but they are all in place, plum and level. Just because I wanted to feel accomplished, I put in the first 4 pieces of "picture frame" decking around the perimeter. 

For some reason the pics I am trying to upload are coming thru turned sideways, so I will post them from my phone in a minute. I will get a couple evenings to work this week, and a full day next Sunday to finish the picture frame and hopefully start laying the field decking. 

 

Alan

 

[Gilbey]

Pre demo view;

Railing down on Saturday;

Blurry pic but you can see the buckle in this view. The joists were like bananas;

Demo done;

Railing posts in place;

First decking in place end of day Sunday;

[chitala383]

Looking good!

[Skeeterbait]

Wow - big project.  Hope it looks as nice as the one on your other house.

[Ben Lippen]

You have learned well, Padawan.  

[Ben Lippen]

Not nearly enough original blocking. Drives me nuts. 

[Gilbey]

Thanks for the encouragement. Kudos to you guys who are out there swinging hammers for a living. After 3 8-10 hour days in the hot sun, I am beat! I gotta say I am happy to have a day at my "real" job in an office with air conditioning today! 

 

Since when does a bulk box of exterior screws cost $45? 

 

When did PT lumber get so darn heavy?

 

10 feet up is higher than it would seem! 

 

Miters make my brain hurt!

 

 

 

 

[Sandflee]

On 8/7/2023 at 9:44 AM, Gilbey said:

Pre demo view;

Railing down on Saturday;

Blurry pic but you can see the buckle in this view. The joists were like bananas;

Demo done;

Railing posts in place;

First decking in place end of day Sunday;

is there a technique for pulling the railing posts out? I may need to do a rebuild and i'd image they are in deep below frost level

[Gilbey]

4 hours ago, Sandflee said:

is there a technique for pulling the railing posts out? I may need to do a rebuild and i'd image they are in deep below frost level

That's no easy task to remove the entire footing. If it were me I would do my best to chip away the concrete to get it below grade 4-5 inches, add some soil, and plant grass over the top. In my case, the posts are set in the concrete slab. I am just going to cut them off at grade, use an old chisel to remove an inch of the wood post, and cover it up with concrete. 

[Gilbey]

I got in a few hours Tuesday and Wednesday evenings to work on my double picture frame boarder. It’s coming out well, just slow going working alone and lots of funky angles. I have two more pieces to finish tonight and then I can start laying the field decking. I’m not working Saturday because I am actually going fishing (gasp) but Sunday should see some good progress since I have son #4 on the saw for me in the afternoon. Had to bribe him with food! 

[nightfighter]

Big project to take on by yourself.... Nice joints. I might suggest you add some diagonals to the framing to keep you new work from moving. As you said; ten feet is higher than it would seem. While you have unloaded the weight by removing old, you are now adding as much or more with the new onto the old dry 6x6? posts.... Using wet (heavy) PT is a necessary evil in framing decks.... Take care with the back...

[Gilbey]

Yep Nightfighter. I definitely need to go back and add some blocking before I start laying the field decking!

[Gilbey]

I played hooky on Saturday and went fishing with an old friend. It was great to get out on the water. Fishing was absolutely terrible, but it was a fun time, lots of laughs, a couple beers, reminiscing a bit. Good for the soul. 

 

Sunday was work day. I put in 8 hours, slow going for the first 4 because the youth of our community (my son) sleeps til 11:00 on weekends! There were a fair amount of angles to cut and blocking had to be added in some places, but I was pleased with the progress. I have about 1/3 of the decking down, and we are happy with the color choices. The conceal clips work well, but they are a bit fiddly to handle. The coretex screw and plug system is pretty amazing! As long as you line the grain up, they are nearly invisible. 

 

There was one screw up, and I am really angry with myself. The deck is staggered, and I knew I had to plan the layout so when I got to the transition point (see pic) that I ended on a full board. I did the math, and I thought I had it dead on. Looking back, I realize I forgot to account for the gaps between the courses, so I ended up with a 2" difference.  I was too far into the decking to start over, so I ripped some material down on the table saw, rounded it over with my router, and installed it. It will be near the base of the railing, and I suspect most people won't even notice. You guys would, and I definitely do!! Just angry because I easily could have added a spacer to the rim joist to make it perfect. Oh well.

 

I am off today to take son #5 to college, back tomorrow evening. I should have full work days next weekend, and the goal is to finish the decking and move over to railing and lighting next week. 

 

 

[Gilbey]

[Gilbey]

I have gotten in a couple hours here and there this week, and I hope to finish laying decking by end of day Saturday and move on the railing and lighting Sunday. I will share some progress pics this weekend.

Question for the pros about stair layout......here is a pic of the old deck stairs and landing.

 

To open up the patio area under the deck I am moving the stairs and landing to the right side of the deck....to the right side of where the railing section is missing in the pic. I have yet to determine which way the stairs will turn after they hit the landing, but I suspect they will turn right, again, to open up that patio area. The drop here is about 9 feet. It will be 4' x 6' sitting on 4 footings which I will dig and pour (by hand) and I plan to pour a small concrete pad where the stairs hit the ground.

 

Is there a good way to layout the location and height of the landing?

 

One more, on your treads, I always feel like two deck boards deep is not enough, so I add another 2.5" strip of decking to the back of the tread. Anybody have options??