stu7708 244 Posted June 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 After almost two weeks with no progress at all this weekend was once again spent working... With my in-laws visiting we had some extra hands bot for working and looking after Kasper, and since my father in-law had a trailer with him we decided to remove as much as possible of the old duckboards and drive them of to the local garbage disposal when we had the chance. So, Saturday started with work with the crowbar, removing old duckboards. At roughly this point I managed to take a rather nasty fall though, ending up being sidelined by my wife for the rest of the day. Be warned, the hidden picture is not a pretty sight.... The left leg took the major part of the beating, but the right leg got banged up pretty good too, and I got a minor blow to the head too Nothing broken though, but a slight dent was put in to my confidence But even with me confined to the sofa for the rest of the day my wife and father in-law manage to remove almost all of the old duckboards, leaving just a small area around the door for easier access. On Sunday the pain had more or less gone as long as I didn't touch the injured parts, and I was back working again. The goal was to finish up the area around that concrete pipe, so the first step was to place the two rows leading up to it. ..and just before lunch I had the first piece fitted. Work then progressed fairly rapidly as I decided to just fit the pieces closest to the pipe and not the full rows, by 4PM I had passed the halfway point. After a short coffee break the rain started coming down though, so we decided to take a longer break and jumped in to the hot tub After a bath, dinner, and convincing young Kasper that it was time to sleep I managed to fit the remaining pieces though. Rather pleased with the result actually. With the final piece at right angles with the beams the distance to the second to last row differed a mere 1-1.5 mm on either side of the pipe.. Well within my margin of error I guess the final cut could have ended up slightly closer to the pipe, but that'll do for me 1 Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 Good work again Micke, see, that concrete planter was no problem after all. Ouch! That graze on your leg must have smarted though, spatial awareness is a prerequisite in this sort of work. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted June 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 I've been jumping around on those exposed beams like a mountain goat since we started without problems.. just let my focus slip for a moment trying to get away from the smoke emitting from the fire place in the hot tub, and I was sent sprawling... let's just say I was way more careful yesterday Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 Looks like you do everything to the max, deck building, custom cuts, falls. That is a big ouch there, heal well. And don't feel bad, most carpenters have enough cuts, bruises, scars to cover a good portion of their body that we don't call mistakes, be call them battle scars. (stories do change as to how we got them.... ) Can I ask why you don't put the loose boards or plywood down, to walk on, instead of hopping around on the joists.(don't let them hang over more than two inches past a joist or again) Decent work cutting around the flower pot, now it's all clear sailing. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted June 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 Thanks Brett. The reasons for not using the new boards to walk on is because they are untreated so I don't want to expose them to the weather to much before the treatment is applied, and it's much easier to cover the stacks they were delivered in... As for plywood, hmm.. hadn't thought of that to be honest... The cut around the pipe went much better than I feared, despite using the good old eye-ball mk 1 for the markings (with a little help from a ruler though). Tried with the old boards as a template, but since the dimensions differ it didn't really help me that much once I had passed the first row. It was way to difficult to figure out where on the template to start the markings.... Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 Another two weeks have passed, so it's time for another update. With Friday being a bank holiday here in Sweden due to midsummers eve I had an extra day to work over the weekend while the rest of the country was jumping around the maypole imitating little frogs... or I should have had an extra day, but Sunday had to be spent indoors due to weather.. Anyway, last weekend I managed to finish off the rows leading out from the concrete pipe, or at least in one direction And on friday I got all the way to the other end of those rows, even if this image only shows the work about half-way done.. A few milestones in the project were reached on Saturday.. First I passed the point where each row will be a tad shorter than the previous one. And then I to finish off with I passed a corner, meaning that each row will now be roughly 8 meters shorter! So as of Saturday (and still today) this is what's left to do on the deck (apart from fixing the fence around the edges and fitting some drainpipes along the front edge of the roof. The remaining parts as seen from the kitchen door. And finally some proof that the treatment does a good job of keeping the water away.. even before it's completely dry! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted June 23, 2014 Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 Moving right along there Micke, I am sure at this point in the job, you are either totally ready for this deck to be finished or you had so much fun that you are now looking for more jobs to do with your new found skills. I do bet that you are a lot more nimble while walking the beams now. Looking good, keep up the good work. Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted June 23, 2014 Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 More good progress there Micke. The end is almost in sight. Next an extension to the house? Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted June 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2014 Thanks guys.. It really feels like I've entered the "home stretch" now. If only it could stop raining every work night so I could get some boards fitted then too.. Brett: to be honest I'm looking forward to when it's done. We'll probably wait until next year to do the fence, together with the "skirts" along the sides... Not too nimble on the beams. The left leg is still a tad sore, so when I'm up on them it looks more like I've had another type of accident Geoff: No room on our property for an extension I'm afraid. Unless we add a second floor of course. But that I will get a pro to do for us, once I've won the lottery Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted July 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Some more progress, but the finish line is now fast approaching. Last weekend I managed to do four rows Despite some power tool issues (the electric saw I've been using to get straight cuts on the duck boards suddenly decided to short circuit and refused to switch off when I released the trigger!) , and other engagements, I managed to get another 4 rows in place over this weekend. And last night another five rows were completed. Looks like I have 9 or 10 rows left to the next wall.... ... and then a few more to remove and replace before I'm finally done! Weather looks promising the next week, so I hope I can finish this in the evenings leading up to the weekend or possibly early next week (the weekend will be spent with my in-laws at a classic cars event, so I doubt I will make any progress over the actual weekend though)... Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Progress, progress, progress Micke, you must be seeing decking in your sleep. I do hope you are wearing knee pads while working. I spent last Friday, the hottest day of the year so far, suited, booted, masked and goggled chemically treating timber in a huge loft of a Victorian house, crawling through some very confined spaces. Must have sweated off a few kilos. Ah, the joy of work. Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 I spent the hottest day in my garden taking down a hedge. So what you may say. Well this was a 20 foot high evergreen hedge with trunks up a foot in diameter, and I got them out by the roots. Next weekend I will be doing more of it as so far I have grubbed up about seven trees, and I have another twenty or so to go. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted July 9, 2014 Report Share Posted July 9, 2014 Hope your selling them to a landscaper John, they are probably worth about $500 or more a piece. Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted July 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 And I'm done!!! Almost. Friday night Kasper spent with my in-laws so plenty of time to fit another five rows... Should be another five rows to reach that first wall... Saturday was spent with my In-laws at a Ford V8 club meeting not far from us. The big talk of the meet was this 1932 Coupe. Not much to look at I hear you saying... Well, the special thing with this one is that it was found back in December when a storm blew of the roof of the barn where it had been forgotten for the last 80 odd years. It had just 12.700 miles (imperial) on the meter and after a small touch-up it's still purring like a kitten.. There were a few in slightly better visual condition too.. Came back home at 11AM on Sunday and contiuned to build. At this point almost all of the remaining pieces have been cut and placed to make sure we did our math correctly. And an hour later they were all treated and fitted!! The deck in it's full glory... So now I'm almost done.... all that remains for this summer is to sort this little flight of stairs, and then clean and treat this part a second time... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 A great job well done there, looks fantastic and I'm sure will be enjoyed by all. The V8 show looked good too. Link to post Share on other sites
dodgy-alan 1,587 Posted July 14, 2014 Report Share Posted July 14, 2014 Fantastick job there, looks great, think you need a beer mate! Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted July 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Thanks Guys, it's great to finally be more or less done... The V8 show was fun. Me and my wife had to sneak in the back door though, considering we arrived in a Kia ceed station wagon Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Thanks Guys, it's great to finally be more or less done... The V8 show was fun. Me and my wife had to sneak in the back door though, considering we arrived in a Kia ceed station wagon Tut tut. Swedish and you don't drive a Saab. Link to post Share on other sites
MyPC8MyBrain 273 Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 im with Alan, time for a beer mate, for a job well done! Link to post Share on other sites
stu7708 244 Posted July 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 @Geoff: Nope.. no Saab, nor a Volvo.. they are way to expensive for me... and I have so far been rather un-impressed by the Volvos I've tried to drive... Never did try to drive a Saab though.. Chris, Alan.. sure did crack a few cold ones open after we finished it.. and more to come when we're actually done for the summer!!! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 That last board must have had you breathing a sigh of relief. Great job, it looks great. Now mow your lawn. (watch out for nails ) Link to post Share on other sites
hifly 925 Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Yo Brett. And what have YOU been up to lately?. How was your holiday in the backwoods? You've been off of here so long I'd thought you'd gone native, grown a beard, got a buckskin jacket and put a skinned racoon on your head. Good to see you back. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,315 Posted July 19, 2014 Report Share Posted July 19, 2014 Thanks Geoff, good to be back. Had a great time, it's good to get away but always nicer to be back home.(no fertilizer spraying in nearby fields ) As far as a beard, always had one but it does look a little scraggly at this point. Anybody else hate shaving, not having too is one of the best parts of a long backwoods vacation. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now