Way to go Mon!! good looking stairway with the posts installed down below. I still recomend either a squash block mid span under the bottom rail or another 1x screwed in from the top.

You done good ol Son. Jon Mon

Thanks John. I have a tecate or two in the fridge if you ever make it to Ca. I'm thinking about rippin a 1x6 and place it under the bottom rail to prevent the sagging. I am holding off until I decide where I am going to place low voltage wires. Do you have any recommendations on the lights/manufactures? I have a decent system now that I can easily expand (Kichler multi-tap transformer).

There are so many guys selling low voltage set ups I cant really say. I do know that even tho its LV you still have to figure in the traval thru those little wires and how many fixtures are feeding off one line. Many of my Wallets have installed lights from the box stores only to have them buzz out shortley because of that. J.

Looks great, salmon! What stain did you use on it?

Weedy,

I Think the the product called Messners -$45-$50 a gallon. I would have tried the twp John has recommended but its not available in ca. The deck looked great but I expect to have to recoat it in 6 mos to a year based on what I have learned here. Went on easy but had to go back over it with a rag as it did not soak in much and I was concerned it would make a sticky mess. I will get back down to the house this weekend (its our vacation house that we want to retire to)to see how everything came out.

Keep the pictures coming, We were in the same boat you are a month or two ago. Pretty soon you will be saying, "It's only another hundred or two..... If you have the tools great, if not say something and get recommendations. After using a newer Makita LiOn 18 volt driver vs my 14 and 18 volt Dewalts, it would be a no brainer to go with the Makita. Much lighter and that makes a big difference after the first 1,000 screws. Also, make sure you get the right fasteners and brackets for the pressure treated wood. I have seen many make mistakes in that area,

Steve

Steve,

Really great job on the deck. Looks fabulous!

I hear you about the time it takes to build these. Although your build seemed quite fast compared to mine. I started last spring and I didn't finish until late summer.

It is "only a deck", I had to keep telling myself that as well everytime a deck chair scratched the stain or even worse, someone left something metal on the deck and it rained and left the awful black stains that don't come out . . . ugggghh.

Enjoy!

Riles

Riles,

I busted my a%% working on this thing and am still counting the hours we put in. I wish I could have spread the time more but we rent out the house occasionally and had to make it safe and look decent. Our last guests had a bet if it was a composite deck or not and emailed me for the answer. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I personally do not care for the look of the composite materials although the new Ipe colored Timbertech looked pretty good - (until I got a price on it). We are in a wooded area and mold really concerned me so Ipe was the best solution for us. I had never heard of it until our landscape architect recommended it. This forum confirmed its use - so we went for it. Only time will tell

Wish I could have convinced John to visit California and "enjoy the weather" have a few beers and supervise the deck building but - no luck. I would have paid for his airline ticket and a round at Pebble Beach. My neighbor down there is single, has a Harley, a Porsche, a Dodge pickup and a 56 chevy. Bet it would have worked.

I think asking if it's composite is a compliment, likely from someone who's not heard of the Brazilian hardwoods. Around here, everything's either PT or composite, and when I've told people we're building a deck they say "are you using composite?" In their minds, you either build it from PT or you upgrade to composite. Yours is obviously an upgrade, so your renters assumed it was composite.

In fact, my parents just mentioned they were replacing their cedar decking with composite, I asked them why not ipe, and long story short, they didn't know a thing about it and now they're going with hardwood.

finished the skirting over the weekend. I needed a design that would facilitate me getting under the deck. After too much deliberation, I settled on a design that uses a couple of 1" hardwood dowels that the lattice frame sits on. no fancy hinges. plants will go next to the deck and I did not want anything that swings. I would have liked to use something like pocket door hardware but - it's only a deck.

Steve
{{gwi:2036251}}From From From

RE: It's only a deck

• Posted by: sparks66 (My Page) on Mon, Aug 3, 09 at 17:44

Normally I despise lattice but yours looks pretty good with the darker color...I still doubt I would do it!

RE: It's only a deck

• Posted by: salmon_slayer (My Page) on Mon, Aug 3, 09 at 20:36

I'm not a big fan of lattice either. It can look pretty ragged if you do not take care of it. In my case, I wanted the ventilation, and plants will effectively hide most of it. Staining it can be a pain though. I started with a brush and then found an old wagner unit that worked fine. The darker stain was intended to make it blend in more. We will see how it holds up. Its easy to replace if necessary.

Steve

RE: It's only a deck

• Posted by: rtate (My Page) on Wed, Aug 5, 09 at 9:18

Great job Steve!!
How did you come to decide on the Mesmers stain and would you reccomend it?
what shade did you use?
I used the Woodrich products and I'm pleased but I gotta say yours looks great!!
P.S. how did you prep for staining??

RE: It's only a deck

• Posted by: salmon_slayer (My Page) on Wed, Aug 5, 09 at 9:57

I used "natural" stain with UV inhibitor, it had a slight tint to it, nothing much but brought out the color in the wood nicely. Its only been on a month or two so I cannot provide a long term personal recommendation but a coworker uses it and likes it. I would have tried the TWP John Hyatt recommends but it not available in California. I did not do much prep for staining, a couple areas were sanded (rails) and a few boards where the anchorseal made a mess. It went on easy with a foam applicator. I followed up with old rags to wipe down the shiny/wet spots after letting it sit for a while. Based on what I have read in this forum, I'm hoping it will last a year before recoating and then every couple after that. It only took a couple of hours so if it needs to be done every year to keep it looking like this- no big deal.

I also put in an upper deck that I have not stained yet. We are getting too much fog that results in a very wet deck every a.m. My plan is to hit that deck with a rotary sander - 60 grit before staining it once the weather cooperates. It may not really need the sanding but it's small and shouldn't take very long. I'd like to understand if I should wait a week or so after sanding to stain though. I understand that right after sanding, the natural oils in the wood may detract from the staining. A little experiment may be in order. I did not notice any issue when I stained the rails though.

Steve

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Normally I despise lattice but yours looks pretty good with the darker color...I still doubt I would do it!

I'm not a big fan of lattice either. It can look pretty ragged if you do not take care of it. In my case, I wanted the ventilation, and plants will effectively hide most of it. Staining it can be a pain though. I started with a brush and then found an old wagner unit that worked fine. The darker stain was intended to make it blend in more. We will see how it holds up. Its easy to replace if necessary.

Steve

Great job Steve!!
How did you come to decide on the Mesmers stain and would you reccomend it?
what shade did you use?
I used the Woodrich products and I'm pleased but I gotta say yours looks great!!
P.S. how did you prep for staining??

I used "natural" stain with UV inhibitor, it had a slight tint to it, nothing much but brought out the color in the wood nicely. Its only been on a month or two so I cannot provide a long term personal recommendation but a coworker uses it and likes it. I would have tried the TWP John Hyatt recommends but it not available in California. I did not do much prep for staining, a couple areas were sanded (rails) and a few boards where the anchorseal made a mess. It went on easy with a foam applicator. I followed up with old rags to wipe down the shiny/wet spots after letting it sit for a while. Based on what I have read in this forum, I'm hoping it will last a year before recoating and then every couple after that. It only took a couple of hours so if it needs to be done every year to keep it looking like this- no big deal.

I also put in an upper deck that I have not stained yet. We are getting too much fog that results in a very wet deck every a.m. My plan is to hit that deck with a rotary sander - 60 grit before staining it once the weather cooperates. It may not really need the sanding but it's small and shouldn't take very long. I'd like to understand if I should wait a week or so after sanding to stain though. I understand that right after sanding, the natural oils in the wood may detract from the staining. A little experiment may be in order. I did not notice any issue when I stained the rails though.

Steve