[f8lyer8s]

Hey-- Finished my deck 2 weeks ago, havent really had time to do the finishing touches on it.... i posted a couple pics to make it easier to see what i am talking about. i was just pondering some ideas about the facia and what i should do with it..


If you can see the photo... what i was thinking about doing was just painting the sides and front of facia, white and then getting vinyl lattace for the frontof the deck to fill the bottom, the only reason i put the "cap" on the sides that looks lower then rest.. is to cover the beam ends. (i was contplating taking these off and running lattace the whole way around.. Just want it to look good... i think either option will look fine.. but wanted some opinions... FYI-- i do have a lot of squirls, rabbits and possums in my neighborhood as well, so i am trying to keep them out.. lol


hopefully you can see the pics... thanks again...

 

[bowanna03]

Looks great I personally would just do the cap all the way around and paint it white. Keep up the good work and pics

 

[stubits]

Just out of curiosity, what brand of railings did you use? Were they terribly expensive? And how do you like them? Are they sturdy? Were they easy to install, etc.?

Thanks!

 

[f8lyer8s]

That’s the thing I can’t do the cap all the way around, it’s a 22' span, I would have to toe-nail it in... Kind of a pain... im thinking about taking the ones off on the sides to just get it to look consistant... not sure yet...

As far as the railings, I actually got a great deal on them
They were actually at home depot... it was a 48’ kit that was on clearance marked down from $1007 to $700… I saw it there for about 3 weeks so I talked to the manager and negotiated a little and got it for 450; I still needed to buy an additional 6’ section for 60 bucks but no biggy. Mine are very sturdy, b/c I didn’t follow there suggestion. The kit actually comes with these steel post that get lag bolted right to the decking, then the post has 2 spacers for the top and bottom. The only reason I didn’t use them is because about 10 years ago my grand mom had a vinyl railing installed on her deck I took a cap off and saw that, that is what they used to install it. I’m 26 so this happened when I was 16 so I don’t remember who or why they did it that way but now they are leaning and it sways as soon as it is touched... no big deal for her since the deck is only 6 inches off the ground... but what I did is.. Before I installed the decking I installed 4x4 post which I carriage bolted to the joist. (Make sure you leave room for the brackets on the railing it will lead to many cuts. Thankfully I figured this out after I only installed the first and second post and “dry fitted”)… but I found that this (takes a little more time and measuring) was the best way to install the rails, it is very sturdy and doesn’t move 1 bit… Installing the railings was very easy all the post caps are cut to 39” for you and basically you just put blocks under the railing for consistent height and install… it probably took 3 hours for the whole railing… pretty simple. I did the whole thing for about $600-$650—(I got new caps for the post) but I did get store credit for $120 b/c I returned the crappy steel post back to home depot... J

 

[stubits]

First, your deck looks great.

Second, thanks for the tip on how to get the railings to work. What do you mean when you say to leave room for the brackets?

Do you know the brand name of the railings? Also, what did you end up paying per 6' or 8' section? I really want to do composite or vinyl railings on my upcoming deck, but the prices I've seen are insane (for Trex, Timber Tech, etc). What I've seen would result in the railings being more expensive than everything else, including the decking and the framing.

 

[f8lyer8s]

Yea I hear ya, that was my concern.. Because I found mine on clearance it was cheaper then you would normally pay.. I work for a financial company in the middle of the ghetto. So really there’s no place for me to go on my lunch breaks, so I usually go to home depot or lowes and just walk around for 30 minutes.. I would go like 3 times a week.. And that’s when I found them on clearance, just dumb luck… and negotiating never hurts either. I’d say I paid about $70 for each 8 foot section... but that includes all mounting hardware, post jackets, caps, base moldings, etc… I mean just do your research and look around to find the best deals… also Craig’s list… I found a few on there cheap… but they didn’t have enough… I believe the company was everlast... or something like that…

But what I mean by the spacing is that if the railing is 96” wide. You DON’T want your post 96” apart… you want to leave between 1-2” extra for the mounting hardware…

Even if you have to pay a little extra for vinyl… it is so worth it... Goes up quicker, easier, and less maintenance… Only other advice I can give you (which you might already know.). When you lay your footers… take the extra time to make sure that they are all level and spaced out accurately including the J bolts (just because Simpson makes their brackets adjustable it doesn’t give you much room for error)..… I seriously took 3 days to do my footers 1 day just to map it out with batters and string the other days to actually dig and pour... then the brackets were like 2 seconds… but I was thankful because I didn’t need to shim one beam or joist... the deck went up in 2 days… its worth taking the time…

 

[Scuba_Dave]

That looks great - I like the cap on either side
I would put cement block under the cap on both sides to prevent animals from digging & getting under there
If you want to make it look the same put a cap on the front & have the meeting point under the back steps
Under the steps put lattice to allow ventilation

Are those outlets in the posts?

 

[12penny]

f8....how about deck boards, cut short and run vertically. Measure each one and run them right down to the grass. And I agree with dave, lattice behind the steps.

 

[f8lyer8s]

never thought about the deck boads... good idea.. but still, i would like to remain consistant... im leining towards just going all the way around, and im going to put in beds around the deck so i will use the block idea (good one) or chicken wire to close the gap, and just build it up to cover it...

That is a great idea with the outlets, unfortunaltley its just the sticker that i didnt peal off yet... lol....

 

[Scuba_Dave]

My deck is up higher
So I am going with the deck boards run vetical

That would be a lot of outlets :laughing:

 

[f8lyer8s]

yea it would, alot on cunduit too... ... i had another thought.. have you ever seen (not sure what its called) it comes in 4x8 sheets, usually used for siding on sheds... i was thinking about riping them down and lap jointing them at the seams to use as a facia, obviously painting them white.. any thoughts?

 

[nelsonned]

Hi

The deck looks really nice...good work.
...White vinyl lattice wouldnt look bad either as a skirt.
Im skirting up under my deck also at the moment.

 

[f8lyer8s]

Yea I was thinking about that, its actually what I would prefer to do (lattice), especially because it will give the appearance of the deck being higher up.. but that would require me to take off the 2x10x16 skirts that are already attached from the other side… so it makes it a little difficult.. L I gotta go to depot or a lumber yard and just look around and get some ideas… its funny I was driving on my break today, and found myself stopping in front of a random house to check out their deck, to try to get ideas… J neighbors probably thought I was stalking someone out… haha

 

[f8lyer8s]

oh yea random question, but does anyone know how to get those stains off my roof?????

 

[Scuba_Dave]

yea it would, alot on cunduit too... ... i had another thought.. have you ever seen (not sure what its called) it comes in 4x8 sheets, usually used for siding on sheds... i was thinking about riping them down and lap jointing them at the seams to use as a facia, obviously painting them white.. any thoughts?

T-111 siding?

 

[f8lyer8s]

yea thats it.. i was thinking about ripping that down and painting it white... to use as a facia...

 

[f8lyer8s]

do you know if that is PT?

 

[Scuba_Dave]

No, its reg wood
Not sure if it comes in PT
I put it on my shed addition to match existing siding
Primed & painted

 

[f8lyer8s]

yea went to depot again on my lunch break... saw that they actually sell a composite facia about 1/4" x 12" x 144"... like 6.97 each, thinking about wraping it with that then just putting lattace in the back, or dropping that facia down in the back so it looks consistant... plus it wont rot if i have it touching the ground.... will post pics when done... should be this weekend if the weather is good... also have to stain... should be tons of fun...


anyone any ideas with the stains on my roof though... still trying to figure that out...

 

[jaros bros.]

They make a cleaner for shingles. It will clean your shingles up and make them look new again. Google it and I'm sure you will find it. I believe you just spray it on and then wash it off with a garden hose.