Deck Boards Secured

[kevin_standlee]

We reached a major milestone in the new patio deck yesterday evening.



After screwing the first of the long deck boards into place, Lisa determined that it was flexing under her weight too much, so she removed it, attached the additional support boards, then drilled another hole in the concrete to secure the supports with the L-bracket and a concrete bolt.



Lisa then proceeded to attach the deck boards to the support beams. My job was to stand on the boards to hold them in place (particularly the boards with some warp in them) while she drilled the wood screws through the boards into the beams. Here's what it looked like just before installing the "keystone" board, which ended up needing a little bit more work with the wood rasp before it would fit into the final space.



We had to leave this gap for the water faucet that is semi-permanently coupled to a line to the swamp cooler upstairs. We've only used that cooler one summer since we moved here, but we want to preserve the ability to use the evaporative cooler when needed.



Here's the completed wooden decking. It was not until I looked at this photo that I realized that it looks a little like a US flag, although either the proportions are wrong or the flag should continue through the wall. We are debating whether to paint the concrete or to cover it with the same outdoor carpeting you see in the foreground. We need to remove the worn-out carpeting on the vertical board and either re-apply new carpeting or sand off the old board and paint it when Lisa paints the entire deck.



Here's what it looks like standing on the concrete section looking back toward the main patio area. Another thing Lisa is considering is replacing the wooden steps.

We're not done yet with this project, although this should be the end of the major wood work. Lisa wants to apply wood putty to the gaps in the deck to reduce water incursion, then sand it all down, then paint it with the same paint we have used for the front porch. Despite the outward appearance, this wood is not redwood, but pressure-treated pine, and we'd be happier having several coats of paint on it.

Lisa has not run out of ideas for the back porch area. One of the things about Fernley House is that there's always another project we can do to improve it.

Comments

[solarbird]

It's nice to get project done. Or semi-done. Done enough. xD

[solarbird]

Oh, what do you think the concrete pad was for, originally? Back door before the house was added onto or what?

[kevin_standlee]

Almost certainly the back stairs from when the house ended at that wall. That itself was an extension from the original house, as we are pretty certain that the wall between the living room and the kitchen is the original rear wall of the building from its days as a house for Southern Pacific employees. That's because the wall is still painted what I call "SP yellow," the color used for most of their structures.

This place is a sort of mini Winchester Mystery House.

Replace the steps?

[a_cubed]

Lisa's idea to replace those steps seems like a good one. They look a bit old and even a short set of steps can be dangerous if they start to wobble/warp.

[were_gopher]

IS Lisa going to make a box to go over the tap? I just know that is this was my place something small but vital would fall down that gap meaning you need to take half the deck up to retrieve it.

[kevin_standlee]

She says that she is thinking about what to do about that space. It's probably why the toy car ended up down there, so yes, something needs to be done about it.