Loyal fans will recall the deck renovation exercise. The first phase is finally coming together.
Here’s the view from the back door as of yesterday evening.
The deck surface is manufactured wood. We have homemade spacers that keep the right spacing between boards, which are held onto the joists with clips,
Detail of the spacers. Nothing but the finest, here. You can buy a spacer commercially, but these work just as well, and we have six of them instead of just the one that we would have purchased.
A close-up of a clip. Theoretically, each new board just slides onto those ears and life is simple. Well, not quite that easy, but it does eventually come along.
The clips on the deck boards actually pulled loose the wooden block on one of the newly installed piers. The only explanation is that the pier must have settled an eighth of an inch or so after having been placed. Anyway, Roger mixed up some quick-set concrete and worked it into the gap under the wooden pad, so that it will have a surface to rest on. We don’t need it to resist horizontal pressure, just carry a vertical load.
Evening today, and phase 1 is complete. The view toward the back door, above, and from the door, below.
We will start working on the area to the right, and the outdoor worktable (formerly known as a picnic table) is to the left. So that big pile of plastic tarp in the background gets spread across the new surface to minimize damage that would otherwise be caused by gravel-encrusted shoes and who knows what!
But it’s real progress. Thanks, Roger, for doing a good job on it.
August 19, 2013 at 7:17 am |
What is the purpose of the spacer? Was it to allow expansion and contraction?
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August 19, 2013 at 7:38 am |
It’s partly cosmetic; all decks have gaps between boards (look at them, next time you have opportunities). It also allows drainage, which helps prevent rot and reduces opportunities for unpleasant small life forms.
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November 10, 2013 at 6:45 pm |
And allowing for some air flow. We actually have ‘doors’ at the ends of our deck. We left them open several times trying to dry the space under the deck. Might have been easier in California. Not so much Ontario…
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