A little shorter workday Saturday, but we still made good progress. The first seven rows or so of decking material are in place, and our three outside handrail posts, which until now had only been held in place by a couple of temporary screws, are permanently affixed with a pair of six-inch bolts driven through them. They aren’t going anywhere. Trust me.
And the transformer for our sprinkler control box, which had been laying on the damp ground underneath the old deck for God only knows how many years (who made that wildly unstable decision?), is now safe, hidden, and secure in an external outlet box mounted to one of our new joists.
With my vacation over and my return to work imminent, my contributions on the deck are mostly over until sanding, staining and sealing. I’d anticipate that all the construction will be wrapped up within the next two or three days by our handyman extraordinaire.
View 1 - Day 6.
View 2 - Day 6.
View 3 - Day 6.
This mess of spliced wiring and the transformer for our sprinkler system was uncovered during demolition, laying in the damp soil below our old deck.
Not anymore. For about twelve bucks a weather resistant junction box mounted to one of the new deck joists has us breathing easier.
Shown here is the ledger bolted to the foundation of the house just below the sill of the sliding glass doors. With much of the weight of the deck now transferred to the house via ten 2x8 joists, we saved ourselves the trouble of digging and pouring concrete for four more posts. Metal flashing and liberal use of caulk should keep water away.
This shot shows the two center beams (bottom), one of ten joists hung over it, and the decking layer on top. One of our six handrail posts is at the top right.
~kp~
