Deck Pricing

Ya, I wouldn't recommend going into any kind of construction-related stuff without knowing what you're getting into. We ran into a ton of problems with the city when we built our deck, since it was considered part of the structure. We had to significantly cut back on the size of it, and my dad is an architect, so he thought he knew the codes.

Lawn care business tips

Thanks for the complements. The deck is all pressure treated wood. From the 4 X 12 beams down is hand and machine sanded. Note the holes in the decking where the bench was later assembled. Leaving the bench off allowed me to use a drum floor sander to take off the high spots and outer layer of discolored treated wood. The herring bone layout of the 2 X 6 "super-deck" decking tied it all together while totally eliminating end to end butt joints. It's all nailed from the underside to hide thousands of nail heads and eliminate foot splinters. The steps on the left had to be nailed from the top. Each nail location was marked and pre-drilled to reduce stress splitting. Measuring and marking the locations ensured observers could see the heads all line up orderly. The nails were ring shank stainless steel hammered by hand even with the surface. Later each nail was countersunk 1/16" deep with a hand punch so I could sand. As each head got shiney, they benchmarked the depth of sanding. The 6 X 6 posts had all corners routed off before they were set. There is a concrete foundation with a 3/4" diameter stainless anchor bolt under every post. Using the 6 X 6 size and 4 X 12 beam allowed the span between posts to be increased and number reduced. This ensured minimum obstructions to viewing the water that surrounded the property. The size of the deck and shade structure is directly proportional to the angle of the sun during the summer. It's designed to block the southern exposure from entering the large sliding glass windows. During the winter months the suns energy helps heat the home. You can clearly see how it works in the photos. The "sun room" on the right side has a 2.5" lower floor level than the rest of the house. The center of the deck is actually gently sloping down toward the right to make up this distance. Otherwise a complex multi-level deck with steps would've been in order. The floor level difference caused the upper level shade structure to grow out on the right, but be smaller on the left to match sun angles. The upper level is built strong enough to to be a second story in the future. It's decking is standard 5/4" nailed from the top to hide fasteners from view below. The entire structure above had to be finish stained 4 sides before it was assembled. Otherwise the staining operation could've damaged the unstained lower deck. Each visible board had to be hand picked to provide a knot free surface. The herring bone pattern allowed us to actually cut out knots and use the shorter lengths rather than scrap them. The bench was made using as much salvaged materials from the construction as possible. Applying the Sikkens finish stain had to be performed in the fall when temperatures were cooler. That ensured even penetration before drying. Some of the upper deck wood was done in the garage during wet weather. This was a massive time consuming undertaking due to the design, detail, and finishing work. It looked like fine furniture when completed. Doing any less than this kind of construction and finishing would've been out of place in this setting and location. Leaving out the special staining would've resulted in a gray sun bleached deck in less than a year. The deck was completed in 1997 after 5 months of effort.

[Steve]

WOW That is just amazing! I never saw a deck with that kind of finish! How long will that last before it has to be reapplied?

I know you have inspired a lot of other who are considering deck construction!

It was reapplied in August 2005. The deck was sprayed with bleach which pulled the outer coats off, then powerwashed. Touch up sanding was performed and a new coat laid over the traffic areas. I'm a believer in this Sikkens product. Anything else and the deck would've required much more work to renovate. I think the lifetime of a deck investment can be extended decades by proper prep, application, and maintenance.