The deck is heading towards the home stretch! Part 2 of the deck reassembly covers many of the repairs (and then some) that the upper deck needed. New band board was put in along with joist hangers (that were nailed appropriately).
What was truly revolutionary were the StairLok stair brackets (purchased from Deck Superstore). Trex does not recommend an unsupported span greater than 16 inches for their product, which is an awful narrow stair. Our stair widths were 36 (lower to upper deck) and 40 inches (ground to lower deck). After some research, we opted for StairLok because they are easier to build, stronger, and use less material than traditional stair building methods. The gallery describes the process for building the stairs.
Preparation:Remove decking, watch rotten post fall away when railing is removed (see Demo post part 3)
Decking – Healthy amount of patience, well developed curse word vocabulary, screw gun, clamps, jig saw, circular saw, railing jig, level, nail gun, level, tap measure
Skill Level: Advanced/Expert. If you don’t know what you are doing, things will get ugly.
Tip(s): Check the step frame with a carpenters square. The brackets have a tendency to rack. Confirming that the stairs are square saves a ton of headache during the install.
Use a stop block when numerous pieces that same size need to be cut. Check to make sure the block hasn’t slid at regular intervals in the cutting process.
Set up an assembly line: pre-cut all the stair frames and cross bracing. Then start building. Nothing slows a process down like having to constantly switch tools.
Gallery
2x4s in Stair lock bracket. 2x4s were cut 3 inches narrower than stair width to account for stair horses.
Using screws to fasten the sides of the StairLok bracket to the 2x4s.
Metal tabs bent over and screwed into the bottom of the 2×4.
Using a nail gun to secure the cross braces/nailers between the 2x4s.
Using a carpenter’s square to verify that the stair is square and hasn’t racked.
Using a wood block clamped to the to chop saw as a stop block for quick cutting of the cross braces.
Trex boards overhang 1.5 inches. This overhang will rest on the stair horse.
Securing the Trex board to the StairLok system.
Use of a Trex system hidden fastener as a spacer for the stair treads.
With Part 1 of the deck demolition and rebuild complete, we get to see what structural disasters are hidden in part 2. How can we be so confident that this portion of the deck is not structurally sound? The most visible symptoms is the drooping corner and the improperly cantilevered boards.
Once the decking came off, the situation was worse than originally thought. Check out the gallery below for great pictures of rotted boards and improperly done construction. This deck was permitted and it is hard to believe it passed inspection, a score and four years ago. It is amazing the deck didn’t collapse long ago. Time to do things right and repair this shoddy work.
Demolition went quickly using technique 3 described in the first demolition post. Tips described in the previous post also apply here.
Critical Tools: Circular saw, pry bar, hammer, drill, pliers, knee pads, Sawzall, end of day margaritas.
Skill Level: Intermediate
Tip(s): Don’t step on boards that have been cut with the circular saw. This will result in a painful trip through the deck.
Gallery:
Bow in the old deck surface at the top of the stairs.
Deck board pulling away from others.
The leaning post is not indicative of good things.
Improperly done cantirlever is the reason for the deck slope. Shoddy construction essentially created a lever. Which also explains the bow in the deck surface.
The rotten wood might explain why the post is leaning.
Not a good thing when the rotting major support is held together by carpenter ants holding hands.
Temporary support of the joists after the rotten board was removed.
What is demolished must be rebuilt. At least that is the logic for the deck – we need somewhere to drink our margaritas. The first two parts of the deck to be demolished and reassembled are the front of the house and the side to the kitchen door. These were thought to be the easy portion of the deck repair until the struggles of demolition were encountered (see demolition post part 1). Once these two sections are done, the deck will be over halfway done area wise and about 25% done work wise.
In the planning for the future part of the deck reassembly, Trex RainEscape is being installed under the decking along the front of the house. This system redirects rainwater and snow melt from dripping under the deck. So if you have grand plans to have a dry outdoor living space under your deck in the future, spend the money and install the system when you first put down the new decking.
We made the decision that we wanted the decking to run in the same direction, instead of running parallel to each side of the house. Front of the house was no problem – one small section of joists was replaced; the new joist orientation is perpendicular to the original. This was done there would be something to secure the decking to in the direction we wanted. The larger problem was the side deck up to the kitchen door. The joists ran the wrong way for the deck direction and did not need to be replaced. The solution? Blocking, nailed in perpendicular between the joists.
Railing is by Fortress. It is iron with 4 layers of black powder coat. Here’s to hoping it lives up to its name and keeps Alex in and isn’t too damaged with multiple Tonka dump truck crashes.
Tip(s): Like with tile flooring, get your first board right. Everything else builds off of this board and if it isn’t square, the problem will only amplify.
Eat your Wheaties for breakfast. The Trex boards are heavy.
Trex boards may need to be trimmed slightly so they end at the center of the joist. Unless your carpenter was Jesus, the joists may vary slightly in their on center measurement.
Create a bracket jig. Saves from measuring posts over and over again to ensure proper bracket position.
Gallery
Nailing the RainEscape in place. The slope is increased by reducing the trough material overlap with the joist.
Taping down the RainEscape seam.
Screwing the fasteners in place.
Pry bar and clamps to take the warp out of a board or adjust spacing.
Tools of the trade.
Old deck, juxtapositioned next to new.
Cross brace to stabilize and straighten post. Bracket jig is clamped on.
Checking that the post is vertical.
Close up of bracket jig.
Deck railing section shorter than 8 feet.
Marking the railing for the cut. Measurements were done in finger widths.
Deck boards – some were replaced by the previous owner, entire deck desperately needs repainting.
With summer in full swing and the inside projects complete, it is time to tackle the deck! What is wrong with the deck one may ask? Best guess it is close to 25 years old. It desperately needs to be repainted, boards need to be replaced, and our home inspector cautioned us against standing too close to the edge in one portion (structure is unsound). Throw in the horizontal railings that a young boy can easily climb, combined with a 15 foot drop, the safety issue is even greater. With that in mind, time to replace the deck and railing!
Horizontal railings perfect for Adventure Alex to climb. Top rail broke while we leaned on it.
In general, the framing is in good condition and does not need replacement. The structurally unsound portion will be repaired to code and common sense. The decking will be replaced with Trex Enhance, color clamshell (grey). Grey was selected because there is so many brown tones with the log cabin, we didn’t want to look like we failed at matching. So we decide to do a cooler grey to help balance all that warm wood. Decking materials, including RainEscape for front deck, were purchased from Deck Superstore in Commerce City, CO (go check out their decking test area) and all lumber for framing repairs was purchased from Home Depot.
So, demolition, easy enough, right? Well, in this case some care had to be taken in removing the decking to avoid damage to the framing. We wanted to reuse as much as the framing as possible. So how was the decking removed?
Technique 1: Unscrew boards and pull them up.
Problems: Screw heads were filled with paint. Screws were stripped and could not be backed out. Screws were brittle and broke off. Boards had to be pried out with a crowbar and screws had to be broken off. A generous estimate was 10 feet of decking was removed in 4 hours.
Technique 2: Use a reciprocating saw with metal blade to cut screws (run between decking and joist.
Problems: Screws were far tougher than regular nails. Significant effort was required to cut through a few screws. This was draining on the saw batteries (multiple recharges would have been required throughout the day), saw blades, and Dave’s reserve of curse words.
Technique 3: Use a circular saw to cut decking boards between the joists from above. Knock board out, shearing the screw.
Problems: With the exception of copious amounts of saw dust generated and some wear and tear on the knees (if knee pads are owned, employ them here!) this technique was the winner! Very few screws that had to be broken off. 45 feet of decking was removed in 4 hours. A four-fold increase in productivity!
Preparation: Relocate planter, block off construction area (from the wanderings of dogs and child)
Don’t use your tools of destruction recklessly. Recover and reuse what you can.
Clean up area every day, with a sharp eye on the look out for screws/nails in the driveway.
Check the joists carefully. An initial glance and the discoloration might be indicative of rot. In this case, it is where stain/paint dripped between deck boards.
Annoyed? Have a beer. Really annoyed? Go for the margarita.
Gallery
Screw head filled with paint.
The fruits of 4 hours of demolition technique 1.
Circular saw to cut deck boards along the joist.
Sawzall to do the close cutting near the house.
Dislodging cut deck boards.
Breaking off screws that did not break off with deck board.
Dry rotted joist to be replaced.
Split joist to be replaced.
A deck free of decking. Joists at far end that run perpendicular will be replaced.
Deck free of decking from the other end of the house.
These draperies were custom made by Best Fabric Store, a fantastic operation out of Alabama. We have been using them as a fabric source for a few years now. They also do custom sewing, and with splitting the time between the two houses, working, and commuting, this potential DIY project was contracted out.
We also selected blackout fabric as the lining. The sun can beat through the southern windows and to reduce solar gain (in the summer) and insulate against the chilly night air (winter) a heavier blackout fabric was selected.
A huge thanks to the Best Fabric Store team. We are thrilled with the quality of the workmanship. And a pat on our own backs for our hidden interior design skills (fabric and living room wall color play off of each other very well).
Fabric: Rockin’ Robin with blackout fabric
Color: Driftwood (Coral selected for master bedroom and not shown)
Size: 2 panels providing 1.85X coverage of an opening ~81 inches wide. Each panel was ~83 inches long
It is another demo and rebuild post! There seems to be a lot of demo and rebuilding posts (laundry room, master bath), but no posts showing the finished product. That would be a correct assessment. The answer is simple; because no room is completely done yet. The laundry room and master bath have been pushed to a point of functionality, but we still have a FinishingList. Why not finishing the finishing details? Well, we have a move in date in approximately 3 weeks. We want to get the really messy stuff done when we aren’t living there full time. The fine points can be done after we move in, if necessary.
That being said, what is being torn apart this time? The master bedroom closet and a coat closet on the other side of the wall (weirdest location, no where near a door that could be considered a main entrance of the house). The door to the coat closet will be walled in and the wall between the closets will be taken down. The opening of the closet in the master bedroom will be expanded. What can go wrong? Fun surprises like plumbing or vent pipes in the wall to be torn down. We can only wait and see.
No big surprises! A run of coaxial cable and nothing that would otherwise derail this project was found. Dave proceeded to close up the one opening and proceed with his favorite remodeling task – drywall work. Too bad Alex didn’t get to enjoy the giant running loop created by the removal of the wall.
So the question is, what are we going to do with the unpainted space? Built in cabinets. That is for another post though.
Preparation: Remove trim
Critical Tools: Sawzall, hammer, pry bar, beer
Skill Level: Medium – to reduce drywall repairs to the closet opening, you have to be careful with what you take down.
Tip(s): Measure carefully and be judicious in what you take down. If too much is taken down, more work will be created when you have to put it all back up.
Living in a drywall work environment is unpleasant. Sand when the least amount of people are around.
Gallery
The coat closet in the living room. It will soon serve a greater function.
The master bedroom closet. The drywall to the right of the opening will be removed to create the larger closet.
Drywall removed from the wall between closets. Looks pretty clean.
View of closet door from the living room.
Beginning to frame in the coat closet door.
The wall between closets is gone. No surprises!
And adios closet!
Newly enlarged master closet door. New drywall is where the coat closet door used to be located.
What comes apart must go back together! After the fun of demo, the master bath needed to be reassembled. We have been enjoying sharing the hall bath with Alex, but it would be nice to have our own bathroom back.
So, what was involved in the reassembly? First, some unplanned work. In the demo post, the recessed medicine cabinet plan was thwarted by the sink vent pipe and forcing the cabinets to become surface mounted. Like a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a hurricane on the other side of the world, the vent pipe location increased the work load. First, the recessed cut out had to be repaired. Then, a box had to be built as a mount for the lights above the medicine cabinet. Why build this box? Without the box, the lights would be shining directly over the medicine cabinet. The box provides the proper clearance for the lights. This would not have been necessary if the cabinets could have been recessed like originally planned.
Second, in addition to drywall repair, was the hanging of new drywall over the newly framed closet and elevated storage area. All the seams needed to be mudded, taped, and mudded. The walls were sanded smooth and were ready for primer and paint.
The toilet was the third stage of the master bath reassembly. A new wax ring and toilet flange extension. The old wax ring is best if used once. A new one cost $6, which is a small price to pay to prevent sewage leaking. The toilet flange extension was required because we increased the depth of the floor. Don’t forget to purchase new bolts as well. Otherwise you might just have to go out to the store. Again.
And finally, the vanity. The vanity is a beast – it was very interesting to carry it up to the main floor from the garage. The quality of the construction was evident when the holes were drilled for the water and sewer lines – no MDF here, but real plywood.
Skill Level: Expert. Why? Drywall. Custom wooden box build. Wiring work (switching out light fixtures). Plumbing work. Drilling a vanity cabinet for plumbing work. Don’t attempt if you can’t put together IKEA furniture. Even if you have, find a friend with construction experience.
Critical tools: All of them. And the kitchen sink for good measure. Select tools: Drywall (spackling knives, drywall saw, screw gun, nail gun); plumbing (PEX crimpers, hole saw, saw to cut pipe); electrical (wire cutters, wire strippers)
Tips: Add your sink hardware before setting the vanity top on base.
Paint before setting toilet and vanity. Reduces cut in work, saves time.
Try and coordinate drywall for all projects and hire it out to the pros.
