# Deck Build



## no1hustler

We have been planning this deck for about a year and in January we started allocating funds for it. Last Monday evening I dropped the building permit application off at the borough office and the next morning they called and said they were dropping it in the mail. Called the "before you dig" hotline and got the all clear from them. Easter weekend was the plan to start putting in the posts. Leading up to it, didn't look to promising since the we have been getting rain, rain and more rain all spring. However, I did get lucky at times. Between having house guests and doing stuff with them/family all weekend, I was able to get the holes dug. I only had time to get two posts in the ground. My plan is to get the final 3 in this week. Hopefully I'll have it finished in the next couple weeks, weather permitting of course. 

We are planning on using Western Red Cedar. Its a soft wood so we may have some complaints about scratches but we couldn't justify paying an extra $3000 for composite. Especially when we weren't thrilled about the colors and look that they give. The overall size will be a nice large 15'x26'. In the drawing below you will notice some steps on the one corner. That plan is still up in the air. We may not have any extra steps. The part closest to the house won't need a step at all so we may just use that as the exit/entrance. The "wall" that you see is what we call a candle wall. It will have battery powered candles on it which will create a light sense of privacy and hopefully will be aesthetically pleasing. 










The second pick shows the progress.


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## Daniel Holzman

Not that I am necessarily recommending destroying the rain forest to build a deck, but you may want to consider ipe for the deck wood. I used it for my deck. Very hard, very durable, very beautiful, and where I live it cost less per board foot than western red cedar.


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## Gary in WA

The B.D. passed on the direct burial posts with a concrete footing? Did you use a deck pier as picture in the bottom of the hole? Did you waterproof the post first?

http://www.awc.org/Publications/DCA/DCA6/DCA6-09.pdf

Gary


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## no1hustler

Daniel Holzman said:


> Not that I am necessarily recommending destroying the rain forest to build a deck, but you may want to consider ipe for the deck wood. I used it for my deck. Very hard, very durable, very beautiful, and where I live it cost less per board foot than western red cedar.


I don't have a good source for Ipe. Do you remember what your decking cost per LF?


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## no1hustler

GBR in WA said:


> The B.D. passed on the direct burial posts with a concrete footing? Did you use a deck pier as picture in the bottom of the hole? Did you waterproof the post first?
> 
> http://www.awc.org/Publications/DCA/DCA6/DCA6-09.pdf
> 
> Gary


Yeah, BD had no problems with the plans. I have some preservative that I'm using on the posts below ground. Woodlife maybe?


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## Blondesense

Looks good! Ya wanna come and build one for me!

Two questions.

What are you going to do about the existing steps?

It looks like your yard slopes down. How high off the ground will it end up, and is that taken into account in the plans? Not an expert, but my understanding is many/most will require a railing if it exceeds X number of inches off the ground. I'd hate to have you hit with that when you thought you were done.


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## Daniel Holzman

I purchased 1x4x8 ft ipe boards, they cost $1.80 per linear foot. I needed about 20 ten footers, those were not stock, so they cost about $3 per linear foot.


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## no1hustler

Blondesense said:


> Looks good! Ya wanna come and build one for me!
> 
> Two questions.
> 
> What are you going to do about the existing steps?
> 
> It looks like your yard slopes down. How high off the ground will it end up, and is that taken into account in the plans? Not an expert, but my understanding is many/most will require a railing if it exceeds X number of inches off the ground. I'd hate to have you hit with that when you thought you were done.


The deck will go over the existing steps. Per the code here, if the deck is under 30" from grade, I don't need railings. Luckily, mine is so I don't have to worry about it.  

I put in two more posts last night. One more to go.


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## no1hustler

Daniel Holzman said:


> I purchased 1x4x8 ft ipe boards, they cost $1.80 per linear foot. I needed about 20 ten footers, those were not stock, so they cost about $3 per linear foot.


That isn't a terrible price. I'm getting the WRC for $1.09 LF (5/4x6).


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## Woodsmith

*Wood conservation aside....*

(which is always an issue), I think you'll be quite happy with the cedar. I used it on my veranda and deck on my house when I built it. It looked awesome... I guess it still does, but due to an unforeseen divorce , my dream home is no longer mine...


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## no1hustler

Woodsmith said:


> (which is always an issue), I think you'll be quite happy with the cedar. I used it on my veranda and deck on my house when I built it. It looked awesome... I guess it still does, but due to an unforeseen divorce , my dream home is no longer mine...


Sorry about the divorce man. 

Did you find that the cedar was too soft?


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## Woodsmith

No, the cedar was great to work with and I love that you don't have to finish it. Plus, pressure treated wood scares the bejeebers out of me on my (and especially my kids') bare feet. I also found a guy who turned my veranda posts out of cedar as well. One other bonus, the cedar seems to keep away earwigs, which we can get a lot of. I used PT wood for the floor joists of the deck and when I was cleaning up around the house, I put the PT and cedar scraps on the edge of the deck (this was mid-summer). When I was cleaning up those scraps, every little pile of PT bits had lots of earwigs under them, but nothing under the cedar scraps!
And I got over the divorce, but thanks for that comment.


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## no1hustler

Sounds good! 

Did you seal the cedar at all or did you let nature do its thing?


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## Woodsmith

No, I left it clear, it turned gray over time, but that's a nice color. Besides, I've never found any stain that will last on decking boards, no matter what kind of wood you use.


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## no1hustler

My wife was thinking that she wants a clear sealer so it keeps the unaged color.


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## Woodsmith

Check with the paint shops...I'm not sure if clear coats have an ultraviolet inhibitor to keep the sun from bleaching the wood.


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## no1hustler

Good point. Thanks for the tip!


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## kwikfishron

Hope your going 16”OC for your 5/4 Cedar.


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## no1hustler

kwikfishron said:


> Hope your going 16”OC for your 5/4 Cedar.


Yes, definitely going 16"OC.


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## MegaMagma39

Looks like you've got a great start! Keep us updated!


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## no1hustler

Today we worked on it for almost 12 hours. Here is the progress. I'll post an end of day picture tomorrow when there is more light. Sorry for the crappy cell phone images. 




















Two of my brothers and my dog.









Brother and his family.










I'm really happy with the cedar that I got.


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## no1hustler

A couple more progress pics. The decking takes a long time to screw down so it doesn't look like much progress. It also took a while to get the cuts the way I wanted them on top of the candle wall.


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## Daniel Holzman

Just curious. I could not tell from the photos, but are you directly burying the PT posts for the deck? Around where I live, the code requires that the posts be supported on a concrete footer, and they have to be placed on a standoff bracket, usually galvanized, to reduce rot potential. I suppose if you used direct burial rated PT my BI might allow direct burial, never did check.

Also, in my town, the beams are required to be installed on a notched post, they can't be bolted directly onto the post. This means that the minimum post size is 6x6, not 4x4, which of course adds somewhat to the cost. I couldn't tell if your posts were notched, but they do look like 4x4.

Differences in local code interpretation I guess. The deck looks very nice, I llike the cedar.


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## no1hustler

Thanks, yes, its all about the codes. The posts are sitting on concrete and the posts do not need to be notched. The code office is very lax since the deck is less than 30" from grade. I did not use direct burial rated PT. I did however put a preservative on the posts. I actually had to go back and brush another couple inches on some of the posts because I didn't put enough on originally to get up to grade.


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## CoconutPete

Looks good! I feel you on the decking screws - We spent a TON of time putting those [email protected] things in.


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## no1hustler




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## no1hustler




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## Blondesense

Nice!!!


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## n0c7

wood.


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## Woodsmith

People complain about the extra time and cost (especially the time) to use screws instead of nails when they build a deck, but when you have to replace a board for whatever reason (accidental damage, rot- not likely with cedar), you will be sooo glad you used screws!


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## KrazeeKirsten

Beautiful project!! Love the candles at night!!


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