My deck, a diy four month adventure

jackie treehorn

Like the title says, I started in early may and wrapped up in september. I must say I don't like working with treated lumber, I mainly use sheet goods where evrything is straight and even, seemed liek I spent more time soorting through the lumber than anything. The yard is still a disaster, and I still have some things up my sleeve like a small built in area for the bbq, a serving bar attched to the pergola, and I need to cover up the pt posts for the seating with some cedar. Just need some more time and better weather

the original area












Small sundeck for the wife, best spot in the small yard for sun


And that's all I have for now, took a long time, but totally worth it, now I'm just waiting for nicer weather

cocobolo

Jackie:
That looks like a pretty nice project. I spent a number of years doing decks and fencing. Loved the decks, hated the fencing.
Are you going to have anything growing on your pergola? Or just leave it alone?
I see two different colors on your decking, is that just stain, or???
And I expect you will be putting a nice walkway over to your wife's deck, right?
She'll love you for that.
Nice job.

jackie treehorn

I dunno what I'll do with the pergola, I'll have some lighting for sure. The two different colors are just the different colors available on the composite decking. I mitered all corners, and routered all ends of each board.
I plan on putting a walkway over to the sundeck, either stamped concrete, or slate pavers.
Thanks for the compliments

cocobolo

Of course....what brand of composite is it? Just curious as there have been a few problems.

jackie treehorn

it's trex, I searched before buying and came up with problems across all sorts of brands, I have zero trees around, and figure/hope that may help from any build up/mold etc It wasn't till the other day I saw the one big trex thread, granted it was from stuff manufactured a couple years ago, hopefully they got their stuff figured out (crosses fingers)

mferguson0414

that looks very nice, wish I had a back yard big enough for a deck like that

cocobolo

jackie, I think you might have hit the nail on the head there. I wonder how many people keep their decks clean. I know I'm guilty of not doing so.
I would think that a good clean in the spring and again in the fall might not be a bad idea.
I seem to recall that some of the Trex troubles were just with discolored boards. It likely would help to keep the crud off.
It might be interesting to see just what types of things will stain Trex. I wonder of there is anything on the web about that.
Unlike you rich guys, I have to use wood I cut myself from logs that I find.

jackie treehorn

Ha!, I have one of the smallest in the neighborhood, and I dislike yard work which is why I tried to cover up as much as possible with the deck

I ordered what I thought I needed, and had to go get more, which were a bit off in color, downside was the time in between, had I gotten it all in one swoop, woulda been fine, you can kinda tell, but it's hard.
As for being rich, 10% off coupons, and 0% interest go a long way, that and no labor charge

Tom Struble

very nice you probably added alot to the value of your house .good job

cocobolo

I hear you, jackie!

Simply Sal

Nice deck Jackie... well laid out.. it will be good to know how these composite decks hold out 10 yrs down the road.. they are improving them as time goes by.

jackie treehorn

Phase 2 (the BBQ) begins now. Starting with the existing area, I noticed some nice grease stains from last year Gonna try and cover them up




Test fitting the barbeque, I went this route since I can't afford the 2 grand for a built in bbq, figure I'll make one myself

Mini fridge will go in the left side


I knew the left over trex would come in handy someday

More pics coming, the bbq area is one of three parts that I'd like to do under the phase II plan, really depends on time and ambition. I'd like to build a serving bar between the pergola posts closest to the bbq area, and also a small cedar awning over the bbq.

Grampa Bud

Do you have clearance to the house wall to fully open the BBQ lid without pulling the Barbie out of its cubby??

drtbk4ever

Nice work Jackie. That is fantastic looking deck.

Do you have any concerns with the BBQ being so close to the house? ie. damage to the siding?

Scuba_Dave

If the siding is vinyl I'd be concerned
If its cement board siding you are OK
Not sure about paint finish on cement board being effected by heat

Very nice job, I'm not showing my wife this thread