# A Deck's Story



## lostplanetairman (Sep 27, 2008)

My 12 year old cedar deck needs replacement and after a downturn in my job I elected to do the project myself. Its been 25 years since I did any framing but I'm not going to let that stop me. I started with the thought of going to the big box store and ordering a bunch of Trex, ripping off the old deck boards, and wa-la, a new deck. When my contractors did the deck in "96", composites were just coming on the market and colors were limited. We opted at the time for cedar for the look. Now, this deck is a critical part of the house in that its sits on top of the garage and is the entrance to the kitchen. Well before spending good money, I did what any red blooded American would do, a lot of internet research, including here as well as the sister forum Contractor Talk. Do to my deck conditions, no sunlight, mold, tree debrie, all do to mature oak trees, Trex or composites in general didn't seem like a good choice. So it was decided that Timbertech XLM was the best choice, scary because of the price per board. No room for to many errors.

But first the demolition.


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## lostplanetairman (Sep 27, 2008)

*Next the framing*

The framing sits on top of a membrane which is the watertight seal for my garage below. After a a good cleaning, inspection, and repair a new frame was installed. All those joists are ripped on an angle with sill plate foam stapled to the bottom to allow them to ride on the EPMD. The frame and posts are done and some of the deck boards have been installed, more picture to follow.


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## lostplanetairman (Sep 27, 2008)

*The Work continues*

After this, the railings are going up.


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## robertcdf (Nov 12, 2005)

Nice looking work! Want a job? .... shoot want a company?


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## What have I done (May 28, 2006)

very nice details!


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## lostplanetairman (Sep 27, 2008)

About 1/3 of 85 lf of the railings have been installed. However work has been halted due to the deck being covered in a coating of ice. Dangerous conditions for a second story job.

This is a good time to talk about the product (Timbertech XLM ) and Built By Mac who gave me the inspiration to use a pocket hole jig. The product is incredibly expensive which means every cut counts. The railings running around 55 a foot. And thanks to Mac, who posted his pix on Contractor Talk in a way I could view and study them, I was able to produce a finished project that I could live with.


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## Frederick j Ward (Dec 24, 2008)

very nice work. what type of lumber did you use for framing?


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## lostplanetairman (Sep 27, 2008)

standard ACQ and galvanized fasteners.


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## ncgrogan (Dec 3, 2006)

The deck looks great but How old is the epdm? I think I would have replaced that too while the deck was off just for good measure so you dont have to rip the deck off if it leaks


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## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

That's a tough call. If the EPDM was put down at the same time as the deck, then in theory it should still be OK. It would have been kept out of sunlight.
Of course, removing the deck would have provided the greatest risk of damage to the membrane. But it was inspected and deemed to be OK, so let's wish him the best.
I think he has done a very nice job there. The added touch of the design in the middle looks most attractive.
Good show!


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## lostplanetairman (Sep 27, 2008)

That membrane kept me up a nights when the project was first conceived. I spoke to the local roofing supply guys about life expectancy of an EPMD roof. The product is usually waranted for approx. 10 years, but its sunlight and princablly UV rays that cause the problems. I did retape the seams with a realativly expensive roofing product. Over Xmas, I completed the project with the instalation of the railings.


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## cocobolo (Dec 16, 2008)

I must say that this is without doubt one of the nicest looking deck installations I have seen. So many nice little design touches included in the deck. Last year I was involved in something similar, a deck replacement over a living area with an EPDM covering. There really wasn't anything wrong with the deck as such, it was just part of a major upgrade to the house. The owner was suffering from a seriously large bank account, so the EPDM was replaced, in my opinion quite unnecessarily. But, I guess if you have cubic money, why not?
Another big plus with your deck is that it seems to tie in extremely well with the house. All in all a superb job.


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## AndrewF (Dec 29, 2008)

Very well done. Great attention to detail (as far as the photos show).


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## lostplanetairman (Sep 27, 2008)

*PostScript*

What to do with all that scrap that won't degrade for decades, Planters. And now that its 15 degrees outside, its time to move inside for a makeover of the first floor. It will be down to the studs. First things first, stiffening the floor using an LVL beam inthe middle of a 16' 2X10 span. Now the china cabinet does not shake. As the job progresses I start a new thread.​


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## Knucklez (Oct 21, 2007)

> I must say that this is without doubt one of the nicest looking deck installations I have seen.


dido.

can you post a link to contractor talk thread you mentioned? maybe we can learn something too 

Knucklez


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## lostplanetairman (Sep 27, 2008)

Enjoy http://www.contractortalk.com/f50/entryway-staircase-side-deck-39131/


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