Steps for the Deck

Not sure why it took so long for my brain to figure out the maths for the deck steps. I didn't want to have to rip any of the 2x4s down and was trying to keep as close to the 7"x11" rule of rise over run for the steps. I also had to perform some surgery on the pressure treated supports as they were bowed and made it difficult to attach anything to them. In the end I ended up gluing and fastening 2x4 supports to the sides of them (using clamps). They all cracked in half, but they at least turned out straight and with the 2x4s supports are super solid.

Getting an idea for the support structure.

Shows the 2x4 supports and how I screwed the steps into the deck.

Once again, wrapped in cedar to keep it pretty.

The finished steps.

The complete look.

Deck gets a top

Had a truck toting buddy named Matt help me grab all the wood for the deck. Had to get a bunch that was 10 feet long which was too much for my car. In order to present a nicer finish than the pressure treated structure, I got some oiled cedar planks to wrap the sides of the structure. Definitely makes it look nicer. For the top planks I used redwood. For the extra details, I used 8D nails for spacers between the 2x4 planks, and I kept a 1/4" overhang on the edges of the deck. I also made sure to keep the "bark side" of the wood up, so with aging the wood doesn't start cupping.

I mitered the corners too, for a finished look.

Kind of a before and after look.

Used the level as a guide to keep a clean cut.

Ghetto panel ripping (last one had to be 2 1/4" wide)

Close look at the cuts around the utilities.

Another close up look.

Not exactly huge for $350 worth of deck.

I've still got to make the step down from the sliding door, but just doing the top panels took most of the day. You can see I had to tweak the gutter too, just to get it out of the way. Eventually I'll divert it into a rain barrel.

Deck work

I made a plan to start work on the deck as it started to cool down a bit outside. Too bad the weekend got really hot and I was trying to work on the deck in 95 degree temps. Luckily I got the digging and concrete work done in the morning when it wasn't so hot, but I still got pretty fried.
My initial plan was to create a deck with a circular corner to fancy things up a bit. Determining how to do that was definitely challenging, and after blue stakes marked all the utility lines, I had to tweak my plans as to where to put the new concrete support.

Well, thanks Century Link, you're off by at least a foot...

Moved the concrete support back to avoid the phone line.

Cutting notches into posts for more solid support when bolted.

Possibly excessive hardware on the joints, but it'll definitely be solid.

Frame all done (second attempt). Was all out of level on first attempt.

Luckily, I didn't damage the telephone line when digging right into it. After creating the frame I had a bit of a spark of imagination too, and I think instead of the circular corner, I'm going to create a step down in the corner. As it is, the deck is still fairly high off the ground, so a small step will be helpful and I think create a nice transition down to the eventual patio.

Another nice thing is that I was able to reuse all the 2x6 pressure treated wood from the previous deck structure. I was also able to reuse the existing metal hardware, although I did have to buy some additional bolts and metal hardware.

Conquer?

Well, I've gotten fat and unmotivated, and something has to change. My exercise room has really languished and is being ignored. I never finished up the decor when I completed the gym, so I'm trying to do that to make it a more approachable and inspiring place. So, here's the first step. Add some Arnold. I've still got to find some mirrors (those seems required in a gym), and I've got some more artwork to add. Hopefully it will help make the space feel less empty and more inspiring.

Was a real pain in the butt lining up everything...

Update: The next few weeks I added in the rest of the decor and a mirror. I'm not sure if I'll add another mirror. I've still got to remove the pull-up bar as it just takes up too much space and is too close to the ceiling to be very useful. 

Appropriate clock and new tv with shelf readjusted.

Some artwork added and the mirror.

Garden update

While keeping up with watering the garden, and after finally completing painting the back of the garage wall, I've discovered even if I plant it, doesn't mean it's going to like me. Things overall are growing well, but as I started late in the season, they seem to be growing slowly, and to some extent, aren't going to produce anything at all. The zucchini I planted is getting huge, but the only flowers that are blooming are male. So, at least so far, I ain't getting any zucchini to eat. After watching some youtube videos as to how to self-pollinate, I discovered I had nothing but male flowers. Well.. poo.
After finishing up painting the garage back wall with a second coat, I tended to the other side of the flower bed, and planted some sugar snap peas. We'll see how those go...

Sugar snap peas planted to the right of the hops...

Giant male dominated zucchini.

Roma tomatoes growing... Please survive.!

Garage wall completion

Well, I woke up early enough, and more importantly, had the motivation to complete the rest of the paint stripping on the garage wall. I had to take the gutter downspout off, which made it fun as a freak thunderstorm hit in between the work, and I had to rush to screw it back on while I was pelted with sideways rain.

I've only got one coat done, but it certainly looks a lot better. I can at least now finish up the rest of the bed now without worrying about pain shavings landing in it.

Hops look a little sad as they were almost killed off by box-elder bugs.

Summer Randomness

Well, it's started to get hot. Trying to scrape paint of siding has seemed a whole lot less appealing, but I've still tried to start doing something. I took a good look at the existing deck frame and realized it was worse than I thought. With the rusty nails, it was barely holding together, so I figured I should just start dismantling it and start over. Thus the work begins...

Existing deck frame... looking sad.

Frame all gone.

Also been tending to the garden, or whatever can be called a garden. Got a tumbler for composting, and after my late start of planting veg the end of May, the Potatoes especially have really taken off. 

Got a composting tumbler. 

Radishes on left. Zucchini far right. Crazy big potatoes, then tiny carrots next to radishes.

On the garage side, the hops and tomatoes have also been growing well. The hops reached the end of the lattice, so I drove some 1x2 furring strips into the ground along with some twine and attached them to the lattice to give the hops more room to grow. No hops flowers so far. I keep checking, but perhaps it won't flower the first year after it's been replanted.

Three furring strips to support the hops.

From another angle.

Roma Tomatoes!

Starting to grow across the string...

Fence completion

The fence work continued for weeks. Pretty much just went one panel at a time, would pull out two panels, replace the post, then move onto the next. Definitely not enjoyable work. Not really much more to say about it, so here's some pics showing the progress.

You can see how I'd brace the posts, using a special level at the top.

Started to need to use a lot more new boards.

Full panel had to be all new boards.

All done.

The before.

The after.

A look from the other side.

Fence fixing

Part of fixing up the barkyard includes tackling the rear fence that is falling apart. Several posts are rotted through (I've had to put up 2x4 anchors to hold up the fence), and a lot of fence pickets are broken. Also, most of the horizontal 2x4s are too short or the ends have rotten and they have fallen out of their metal hangers attached to the 4x4 posts. 

At first the idea was to completely build a new fence, but after realizing how much that would cost, and the work involved, I decided to try to repair the existing fence. I started at the far right and will work my way left as I go. 

The fence before. There were also metal bars on the other side, holding it up.

Installed new post, and horizontal 2x4s.

Fence pickets screwed on one panel.

Ran out of new pickets, but you can see how many existing ones weren't salvageable.

On a side note, I met my neighbor and he seemed very nice. I said it wasn't necessary, but he gave me some extra money to help out. I was trying to dig out the concrete at the time and he suggested drilling out the old post and using the existing post cavity for the new post. I was able to actually pull out the rotten post and set the new post inside (adding a little concrete to the top). It actually worked great and saved a ton of time, and my back.

Raised bed creation

After planting the hops and some tomatoes next to them, I've been wanting to plant more veggies in the backyard and finally start using my yard. I purchased some really nice cedar 2x4s and got to work over memorial day weekend. At first I was going to make them over 2 feet high, but considering the cost of the cedar and after a rough mock-up I realized the height I finalized on (21 1/2") was plenty.

The sides of the raised bed (4' wide), with internal structure screwed in.

The 8' wide sides of the bed.

Screwing everything together.

Adding "hardware cloth" to the bottom.

Lining the sides with plastic for a little extra protection for the wood.

All situated.

Look from the other side.

Dumped some old logs, soil, and grass clippings to start it off.

So, I'm going to need a lot of soil to fill in the bed. I'm also hoping I didn't put the bed too close to the tree as it doesn't get a huge amount of sun most of the day. I plan on eventually making another next to it though, so I can always put the veggies that need more shade in this one, the ones that like sun in the future one.
It might not be necessary, but I also got some rebar to secure the bed into the ground. I've got the super long drill bit to drill through the wood too, but I seem to have lost my plug-in drill.

After thinking about it, the next day I added more screws to the sides to ensure the structure was totally solid. I figure the more the better with that much soil pushing out against the frame. I also cut away some of the branches above the bed. It's hard to see, but it made a big difference and will let more sun hit the bed.

I used exterior 3" screws all around.