Deck building

nikeman

Update:
Deck has been torn down and the 4x4s that held it up were only buried about 2 inches in the dirt with no concrete! The stairs I tore down were the same way also so I can't imagine how they passed any kind of inspections when the house was being built! I'm assuming they were just placed on top of the ground and they sunk 2" over the years... Kind of makes me mad since I was all over that thing with my daughter! Anyway, its down and hopefully the holes will be dug today so the first inspection can be done and out of the way!

NewHomeDIYGuy

Good to hear on the progress. Ya, if you look at some construction it's amazing how shoddy some of the work is that gets by. I'd be willing to bet whoever built the deck did it w/o a permit, either the previous homeowner or the contractor they hired. That's one of the advantages of pulling a permit yourself (especially if some contractors don't want to pull a permit), some contractors may try to be lazy or sloppy, and the inspector will hold them to the code. It definitely gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling though when you're done with yours since your new deck will be built much more solidly, and it's amazing how even the shoddy stuff seems to hold together.

nikeman

I am ready for it to be done. Its raining now even though its not supposed to rain for the next 6 or 7 days so its break time to see what happens with the weather. When he tore the ledger off from where the stairs were the metal flashing was not even half way down the plywood and water has rotted part of that to a point that it might need to be replaced! Theirs no paper or anything on it either which worries me a little about the rest of the house. I guess when you do something major to your house your bound to open a can of worms..

NewHomeDIYGuy

Aint that the truth. Murphy's law in effect. I've learned from home renovations that things will ALWAYS take longer than expected, and costs very likely will rise due to unforeseen things (things not being level/flat, needing reinforcement/etc). It's one of the reasons many contractors bid higher, because homeowners hate hearing "oh, we found something and it's going to cost X more." That's why I find hiring contractors honestly requires decent knowledge beforehand, so you know what has to be done, and any problems they come across are in fact problems, and how much is reasonable to pay extra to cover them. I have no problem paying extra if some extra problems pop up. I think the best contractors are the ones that show you the problem and try to explain what needs to be done, much like a car mechanic, so you don't feel like you're getting ripped off.

I hate bringing my car in for a state safety inspection and having a mechanic coming back just saying "X is wrong or X needs to be replaced" without showing me the problem. If it's something simple like an axle boot or cv boot/etc, showing the customer the problem only takes a minute but goes a long way towards making them trust you. Good luck.

One piece of advice is try to avoid digging the holes for the footings and leaving them uncovered if it's going to rain the day of or before the inspection. Sometimes it can soften up the ground and the inspector will find the ground not solid enough and make you dig deeper and have it reinspected. Heck, even if you are deep enough according to code and the ground feels semi-soft (they use a rod to measure the hardness of the ground), keep digging a few more inches or so till you hit more solid ground. It'll save you time in the long run.

GBrackins

I've found that O'Reily's Law comes into play. O'Reily's Law says Murphy was an optimist.

Better to find it this way than from something collapsing ......

__________________
Gary

"You get what you pay for, and sometimes free costs more!"

nikeman

I think it has rained pretty much every day this month so the ground is very soft as it is. Also all of the utility markings are gone and the red line went right where a corner post was supposed to go. Not a big deal since I had measured to include a 3 foot overhang so I have a 3 foot cushion but it seems like utility companies can see the future and try to screw you.

GBrackins

every place is different, in my area they paint the street but place small flags in the yard (so as not to damage your grass). if you have any doubts have them come back out. don't want part of your budget going to the utility company.

__________________
Gary

"You get what you pay for, and sometimes free costs more!"

CoconutPete

It rained for 3 days straight after my footings were poured also, if nothing else - it reassured me they weren't going anywhere!

nikeman

Holes are dug and inspector came right as I was finishing up last hole. All passed and the inspector was impressed with my knowledge of the current codes. Lol. We hit the water line from the well along with the wire for the pump that was right on top of the pipe. Had to move 2 posts over a foot which will make my platform 5' for the stairs instead of 4' so not a bad thing.




Also found a large knife over beside my shed that was broken and on top of the ground where I should have seen it before. It's a mystery where that came from.

nikeman

I plan on getting the concrete today and putting down the 8" layer that has to go down before posts are set in another 8" layer. Can I pour 2 80lb bags in each hole and just spray them down with the hose or do I have to mix up each bag and pour it in wet?

nikeman

This is the concrete I got


http://m.homedepot.com/p/Quikrete-80...180/100318511/

I know the fast setting stuff can be poured dry and soaked with water but not sure about this.

12penny

Not sure thats the way to go about it....never did it that way. The way it looks in the code drawing, you poor 16" of crete then set the post into it 8". Two different poors you'll have a cold joint between them.

Would have been a whole lot easier to pour concrete to a couple inches above grade and use post bases.

nikeman

I think your right. Code says pour 8", set post on top, then pour another 8". I poured 2 80lb bags in one of the stair post holes so far so maybe I only messed up one hole at the most. It's more than 8" thick also and my hole is wider than 16" and right at 2' deep. Ill wait and let the guy do it all at once on Monday. I can buy a post anchor for the hole I put concrete in and do the rest the right way. Ill buy one of those anchors that attaches to the bottom of the 6x6 and screw it into the concrete once it dries and put another bag in the hole around it.

nikeman

Is there a cheaper way to prevent the cold joint? Is it best to just use one of these and another bag of concrete on top?

http://m.homedepot.com/p/Simpson-Str...66Z/100375370/

I know quikrete makes something to bond new concrete to new but is that a good route to take in this case?

hand drive

concrete is easiest to pour once and be done. adding wet to dry requires re bar to lock them together. How tall is the deck going to be? why exactly are you wanting to bury the posts into the concrete?

a lot of times I build the deck on temp posts (2x4 with a 12" 2x6 foot nailed to 2x4) and permanent post down to footing later, I've even had entire decks almost built before the footings were even dug- helps to know the local inspectors if building this way