What I've been up to lately

[stu7708 244]

Hi everyone.

 

As some of you might have noticed I've been very inactive on the forum the last week. Those following the ATWC will most likely have noticed this with the lack of updates to the departure board despite finished flights.

 

So here's a little tale of what I've been up to.

 

The background is that my family moved in to a house in December 2011, and in most parts it was in very good condition and needed no work done to it. The only exception from that was the wooden patio (roughly 130 m² in size). So we have now decided that it was time to start changing all the duckboards, and adding a roof over parts of it.

 

The project started last Wednesday when we started tearing away the old duckboards and fences on the section where the roof was going up.

 

 

By Thursday night all the duckboards and most of the fence was gone. The remaining fence post was left in place as an indication of where the outer support structure for the roof should be.

 

A rainy Friday was spent digging holes for the five plinths for the outer support structure for the roof...

 

... and constructing the outer support structure...

 

On Saturday we started to place the new duckboards. Since we opted for untreated pine wood for the duckboards all of them needed to have the underside and sides treated with what I think is called Tarinoil in English. It's a traditional treatment for wood used mainly in the archipelago outside Stockholm for treating boats, outside walls etc. It's made up of equal parts Tar, Linseed oil and Turpentine... Smells great!!!

 

Sunday almost saw a completion of the duckboards, but I got no image from that day. The last three rows was placed on Monday morning, and then we started on the rest of the support structure for the roof.

 

and by dinner time on Monday we had 5 of the 9 trusses in place.. 

 

and that's how I spent my Easter holiday...  Now "all" that remains is to finish the roof, tear up and replace another 90 m² of duckboards, apply the Tarinoil to the top side of the duckboards and rebuilding the fence... should take us another month or so considering we have no long holidays in the near future 

 

Oh, and by the way, we did remove a fair amount of nails and screws over the holiday too...

 

[needles 1,013]

Well done Micke.

It's looking great.

[stu7708 244]

Thanks Brian.

 

Now the only issue I have is how we will manage to re-paint the upper parts of that wall over the roof when we need to.. but that's a problem for the future  

[ddavid 149]

Thanks Brian.

Now the only issue I have is how we will manage to re-paint the upper parts of that wall over the roof when we need to.. but that's a problem for the future

Paint the wall now, Micke - then you'll have a few years grace! Nice work, too...

Cheers - Dai.

[mutley 4,498]

Good work Micke and very satisfying to see a good result.

Thank heavens for the cordless drill!

[stu7708 244]

 

Thanks Brian.

Now the only issue I have is how we will manage to re-paint the upper parts of that wall over the roof when we need to.. but that's a problem for the future

Paint the wall now, Micke - then you'll have a few years grace! Nice work, too...

Cheers - Dai.

 

Thanks.

 

Good idea Dai, but I only have a month until we need to have it finished for Kaspers birthday party, so no more extras will be added to the project at this time  

 

Besides, if I'm lucky it will coincide with when it's time to replace the plastic top of the roof  

 

Good work Micke and very satisfying to see a good result.

Thank heavens for the cordless drill!

 

Thanks Joe

 

And cordless drills are a big bonus yes..

 

But even more so was the fact that the old duckboards were nailed and not screwed to the supporting beams... much easier to just break them free with a crowbar rather than having to unscrew about 1.000 screws to get them off  

[Captain Coffee 2,030]

Nice work. I see your prob re: future painting project...that roof could be a bit weak. Consider adding a strip of plywood at the top of the incline before you add the roofing surface... to give yourself a standing surface for future projects like that...you will need a spot to stand to hang the Xmas lights too .

[stu7708 244]

Thanks.

There will be a total of five 45x45 mm crossbeams added on top of the trusses before the roofing surface gets placed, otherwise it would collapse when winter comes and it gets covered in snow.

But I doubt the plastic cover will hold if I try to stand on it placing all my weight on one foot.

Could work if I spread the weight with some sort of temporary board on top of the roof though... Hmm food for thought...

[hifly 925]

Great work Micke, makes a nice gazebo to have a beer on a summer evening and admire your own handiwork.

[brett 2,315]

Looks great Micke, it's a good feeling working with your hands to create something that looks so good. (good feeling is in your heart, not your muscles  )

 

I used to use pump jacks w/ scaffold planks in situations like that for painting. It is not always a safe proposition to stand or ladder on a corrugated plastic roof, please be careful. 

[stu7708 244]

Thanks guys

 

@Geoff: The Gazebo was already in place when we moved in, at least kind of.. the basic structure is there, but there's no roof on it  

 

@Brett: The good feeling is definitely not in the muscles no.... especially not for a paper pushing desk worker like me    

Although getting in the outdoor bathtub, with the water at 36C last night after 5 days of hard work was a good feeling for the muscles   

 

I would never even consider placing a ladder on top of a plastic roof. so  that I can promise you. And deep down below my optimistic surface I do know I really shouldn't stand on it either.. But some sort of scaffolding should do it I assume...

 

But as I said.. it's a future problem that I will deal with when I get there...

[brett 2,315]

Haha, I looked back at my post. I was talking about putting a ladder, on plywood, placed on top of the plastic roof.  I have some other tricks I have used in these situations, get in touch when it's time and I'll be happy to give you a verbal hand.

 

 

[Quickmarch 488]

Looks good job, Micke, Congratulations!

 

I've been out of commission for a while too. The local sawbones installed a shiny new SS knee in my left leg last week. I didn't take any pictures. Judging by the leftover - it was pretty messy. I'm recovering well (I think). Walked the length of the hotel hallway this morning and I'm getting better at bending it every day.

 

Your project reminds me of replacing the deck planking on my boat before I left Canada in 2007. 1000 screws, each and every one buried behind a teak plug that had to be removed with no damage to the surrounding teak. That job required ~500hrs on my knees. 

 

Enjoy your new deck and make sure you review - http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/topic/9017-jokes-topic-do-not-enter-if-easily-offended/page-39#entry107320

 

Good thing I've got Mutley's to keep me entertained for part of my day.

 

[stu7708 244]

Haha, I looked back at my post. I was talking about putting a ladder, on plywood, placed on top of the plastic roof.  I have some other tricks I have used in these situations, get in touch when it's time and I'll be happy to give you a verbal hand.

Ah.. you meant it like that... yeah, I can see how that could be a bad idea too

 

The walls were recently painted when we bought the house, so hopefully it will last another 5-7 years. But I'll try to remember to give you a shout when the time comes

 

Looks good job, Micke, Congratulations!

 

I've been out of commission for a while too. The local sawbones installed a shiny new SS knee in my left leg last week. I didn't take any pictures. Judging by the leftover - it was pretty messy. I'm recovering well (I think). Walked the length of the hotel hallway this morning and I'm getting better at bending it every day.

 

Your project reminds me of replacing the deck planking on my boat before I left Canada in 2007. 1000 screws, each and every one buried behind a teak plug that had to be removed with no damage to the surrounding teak. That job required ~500hrs on my knees. 

 

Enjoy your new deck and make sure you review - http://forum.mutleyshangar.com/index.php/topic/9017-jokes-topic-do-not-enter-if-easily-offended/page-39#entry107320

 

Good thing I've got Mutley's to keep me entertained for part of my day.

Thanks John,

 

The "sawbones" at work spend most days replacing knees and hips while I push paper and count the money, so I have a fair idea of what you're going through. For a few years my office was located in the post-surgery ward, so I've seen and heard quite a few patients over the years. Give it a couple of months and you should be almost as new...

 

That video was most entertaining.. i must visit the jokes topic more often I think  

[brett 2,315]

  I've been out of commission for a while too. The local sawbones installed a shiny new SS knee in my left leg last week. .

 

Heal well and fast John.

 

 

[hifly 925]

Ouch! Knee op, I'm cringing at the thought of it. Remember not to kick the rudder pedal too hard. Wish you a speedy recovery.

[allardjd 1,853]

Nice piece of work on the deck, Micke. I know it's not done but that's a tremendous amount of progress for one weekend.

John

[stu7708 244]

Thanks John..

Status update: in an act of resolute defiance against my man-flu the remaining 4 trusses are now in place. Although I fear I shall now have to resume my vertical position on the living room couch that I almost mastered to perfection during my sick-day yesterday.

I'll try to get an image uploaded later, can't manage that from the iPhone unfortunately.

(Those following me on Facebook can see a shot there).

[Captain Coffee 2,030]

Quickmarch...OUCH...hope you are recovering well. Getting around on a boat with a bum knee can not be fun...do you wear a knee pad? (god I swear I bang myself twice daily moving around in mine...hence why we swear like sailors).

 

I'm curious about: "1000 screws, each and every one buried behind a teak plug that had to be removed with no damage to the surrounding teak."

If you were replacing the decking, why worry about the old wood? Did you have another project in mind to recycle it? ... because if I was faced with that kind of job, I'd just remove it, plug the holes properly and paint the deck with grippy paint...god I hate teak lol...looks great, but way too much work.

 

My boat only uses teak as trim, and I have plans to remove some of the purely decorative trim and replace with tile...the functional stuff that is too big to replace i just leave "silvered". I fell prey to the "God that varnish looks awesome" temptation after a neighbor refreshed his teak work...I spent a week re-doing mine, and in 2 years it looked like crap again...fark that.

[stu7708 244]

Not to much done over the weekend, and if my body is a good judge i still did too much because I was knocked out with a flu yesterday  

 

Still, on Saturday I got the last four trusses in place.

 

and on Sunday me, my wife and my dad managed to get all crossbeams and the plastic cover in place.

 

And last night my wife made sure we had the most important part of equipment installed......  

 

Next step is to cover the small flight of stairs leading up to the deck, and then treat all of the new duckboards. Keeping my fingers crossed I can get that done after work during the week so we can start on the rest over the weekend.

[brett 2,315]

Your a real trooper when your sick, way to hang in there. Looks good and that essential looks comfy.

[Quickmarch 488]

This might be slightly off-topic because I didn't do it today, but it is about decks.

 

The project that follows was done in 2006. @Matt has asked for clarification of some comments that I made. Specifically; "Why carefully remove the old planking?" The reason is simple - to replace the old-growth teak decks is impossible today. The best you can get is "Plantation Teak". You can purchase the teak in several ways, raw planks or finished panels. Either way you're looking at $50K to $70K USD in 2006 dollars.

 

Why repair the decks, rather than simply remove them and replace with non-slip paint? The answer is that there is no other surface as well suited to a yacht deck. It is the ultimate non-slip surface. But, most importantly, my wife had her heart set on the teak decks - a compelling reason. Also, it was a bargaining point on the purchase price of the boat. The original deck planks were loose, the thiocol bonding having given up the ghost. When it rained or the decks got wet, there was water under them such that stepping on a deck section resulted in water squirting up through the gaps. 

 

After carefully surveying the condition of the underlying fiberglass/plywood/fiberglass to ensure that there was no serious damage to the structure, I was able to make a ridiculously low-ball offer on the boat. Low enough that I could have the decks repaired by a professional and still come out ahead of the asking price. 

 

Everything was looking good - I bought the boat, had the mast pulled, rented a boat shed (a floating corrugated iron shack with one end open), and hired a local shipwright to do the job. All was set for a Monday morning start on the job. Unfortunately, on the day before that the shipwright died in a motorcycle/RV head-on collision in the mountains North of Vancouver.

 

Now what?

 

The shipwright and I had discussed the process so I had a vague idea as to how to proceed. The fallback always was to remove the teak and put down a non-skid surface. 

 

Here's where the screw removal comes in: Approximately 25%, of the screw heads were exposed, the teak plug having been worn too thin to remain in place over the screw heads. These were the easy ones. The screws were flat head, Phillips style. It remained only to dig out any glue remnants from the screw heads and carefully back out the screws using a battery operated drill. Sounds easy, doesn't it? The fly in the ointment is that the screws were stainless steel, a soft metal. Despite my best efforts, many of the screw heads twisted off, leaving the threaded portion embedded in the plank and still holding tenaciously in the underlying fiberglass. Nuts! Going back to the conversations I had had with the shipwright, I recalled his comment that this was to be expected and that there was a tool available to solve the problem. The tool is a steel spring-pin (also called a roll pin or tension pin) that has been machined with a reverse helix on the inside and a left-hand cutting edge on each end. Inserted in a reversible drill, the tool cuts around the outside of the broken screw until it has enough of the screw captured in the reverse internal thread to grip and remove the screw remnant. Armed with a handful of these treaures, I was able to remove about 75% of the screws. 

 

The other aggravation was the periodic screw head that was damaged by the screw driver "camming out" and rounding the edges so that the screw driver could get no purchase. Fortunately, there is another tool available which has a left-hand drill bit on one end and a tapered, reverse threaded, gripping bit on the other. The procees requires that you drill into the damaged screw head with the left-hand drill end of the tool. Then you flip the tool over and using the opposite end, carefully grip the screw head and back it out of the plank. Often, the screw head simply twists off - so back to tool #1. In some cases I got lucky and the reverse helix drilling process got enough of a grip on the screw to back it out.

 

The following pic is the foredeck before removing the planking. You can see the raised edges of the teak plugs and the screw threads where the plugs are missing. The foredeck is a low-traffic area and was in the best condition of all. Most of the exposed screws were located in the high-traffic areas along the sidedecks. Also note the prism, near the bottom left of the photo. This is a triangular glass block, let into a cutout in the deck and surrounded by a brass cover plate. These prisms are intended to spread light down below over the bunks (where you sleep). In reality all they do is leak and spread water over the bunk. As you'll see in a later shot, I plugged these deck openings and planked over with new planking. I'd rather have a dark, dry bunk than a light, wet one. 

 

 

This picture shows the planking, with screws removed, loosely left on deck in approximately their original locations. The tape with the numbers reference the location of the planks to ensure that they are returned to their originl positions. It was interesting to note that the construction method used is known as "match planked". What this means is that the original planks were cut to fit the exact curve required and the planks were twice as thick (plus a bit) as the final requirement. After one side had been fitted the planks were cut in half along their lengths and the second part was flipped over and moved to the opposite side of the boat. This meant that where I had a poor section of planking (soft wood, bad grain, etc) on one side of the boat, I had an identically bad piece of planking on the opposite deck. I actually replaced only sixty linear feet of planking. Most of that was to cover over the areas where the prisms were located. I could not just make a plug to fit where the prisms were. I fitted overlapping planks approximately five feet long to smooth the transition.

 

 

This picture shows the port side deck after sanding and cleanup of all the old adhesive. Note the stack of teak planking on the deck of the boathouse beside the boat.

 

 

Here is the foredeck again. At this point it is half finished. The starboard planking has been re-machined and cleaned of all the old adhesive. The deck was then coated with a thin film of 3M 5200 polyurethane adhesive. The bottom side of the planks were similarly coated. The planks laid in their original positions and screwed down using slightly longer round-head screws through fender washers to clamp the planks. This mess was left for seven days to allow the polyurethane to cure. The screws and fender washers were then removed, leaving the original plug-holes. At his point there is no longer any need for mechanical fasteners. The 5200 adhesive is holding the planks in position. There is only one downside to this method - the planks are absolutely non-removable with anything less than a power planer. The black rectangle at the right hand side of the photo is the plug where the prism used to be. I had to make a new kingplank (the one that goes down the middle of the deck).

 

 

Here's another picture of the glued deck - this one the portion behind the foredeck on the starboard side.

 

 

I used an epoxy to fill the screw holes in the deck, followed by epoxy setting the teak plugs in the openings where the screws used to be. Once everything was cured, the paying compound (black rubber strips between the planks) was injected into the cracks, allowed to cure, then sanded along with the plugs and deck planks to a uniform thickness. The sanding was done with a 6 inch random-orbital sander. The process of installing the paying compound is quite complex - starting with a cotton material stuffed down into the crack to prevent the compound sticking to the underlaying deck. It is important for expansion and contraction to attach the paying compound only to the vertical sides of the cracks. Then a primer is painted onto the vertical sides, allowed to cure, and the paying compound pumped into the cracks using an air-powered caulking gun. The original deck was likely 1/2 inch thick. With wear, sanding, etc, my finished teak decks were 3/8 inch thick.

 

All in all, a 500 hour job on my knees. I did wear kneepads, but I'm willing to bet this was the beginning of the end for my knees. Culminating in the aforementioned knee replacement with my doctor telling me to prepare for the second one which won't be far behind.

 

Now, amazingly, I cannot find a photo of the completed job. The best I can do is a strange shot taken the day before we left right after an unusual violent squall that came through - complete with hail. 

 

[allardjd 1,853]

Note to self - never buy a boat.

John

[brett 2,315]

That is aloooooot of work. Score 10 out of 10.

 

I did tons of flooring, vinyl and ceramic tile on concrete, in my career and my knees remind me of it every day.

[allardjd 1,853]

I haven't abused my knees quite as much as some of you guys but I do notice that every time I kneel down it's a little harder to get up than it was the time before.

John