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The Deck !

I always wanted to have a covered veranda or deck as they call them here . I think it gives character to the whole house as well as giving a space to rest outside and admire the view whilst greeting passers by and neighbors as we do over in Coupeville . Much thanks to Mr Deasey for his excellent plans .
    First thing to do was excavate for the foundations . I marked them out roughly and Doug dug ! ( Doug and Melissa ) from the crooked house came and dug with their wheeled excavator as a neighborly act .  I formed roughly 18" square molds with scrap wood on the excavated level . These were filled with " Sakrete " a dry concrete mix which you simply add water to in a wheelbarrow , stir and pour in ! Once this had dried I made and more accurately placed and formed 14"  molds which would be partly visible . I carefully filled them putting a piece of reed bar in the center to allow for the big hold down bolt to be simply screwed into the dry concrete to hold the deck feet .


  All the Timber sizes were specified on the plans by the architect .The treated deck posts were very carefully measured in position then cut and located into the metal brackets . The main beams were similarly offered up then cut. The parts were assembled and connected using the readily obtainable specialized galvanized fittings . Once the main deck beams were in place the smaller joists were fitted between them and the treated timber that was screwed onto the rim joist . This made everything very secure and stable . Only once this was done could the heavy upper beams be fitted using boards to give a safe working surface . The uprights were positioned first and braced in both axis . Once they were secure I was pondering how to lift the main beam when Tobin Thompson surprised me by simply lifting it up and positioning one end , getting me to hold it firm until he could lift the other end up from a simple step ladder . Sometimes brute force can move mountains . From here on it was simply a case of securing the parts with metal brackets till the deck frame and its roof were complete .


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