Restoration and Extension of My 31 Year Old Deck

Frank Pellow

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2,332
Location
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
(Part 1 of 6)

Aside: I started a similar thread to this on SMC but was not able to complete it there. So, for folks who have seen some of this before, I apologize.

Background:

When I built my shop a couple of years ago, I had to tear down some of the old deck to make room for the shop. Here are some photos taken in March 2004 just before I started work on shop.

• The deck –photo taken from the north:

The original deck -photo taken from the north.JPG

• The deck –photo taken from the east:

The original deck -photo taken from the east.JPG

• The outline of the about to be built shop mapped upon the ground and the deck:

The new shop mapped onto the deck.JPG

I built the deck in 1975 and the surface is western red cedar 2x6s nailed onto the joints with three 3 inch galvanized spiral nails at each intersection. Thus, the boards are not easy to remove without damaging them in some way. At the time the shop was built, the deck was in serious need of maintenance. It had last been stained in 1995 and suffered from neglect and even misuse while we lived in Seattle from 1997 to 2003. But in 2004, the shop construction project took priority, so the deck has now been neglected and misused for 11 years. However I am happy to report that, in spite of that, the majority of the 31 year old decking boards are sound. And, the underlying support joists and beams are all in good shape.

The project consists first of sanding, and where necessary filling, then staining the remaining original decking. Then I am going to extend the deck with a semi-circular perimeter to the north and east. New wood will be used for the extension.

I keep a weekly journal with, among other things, notes and pictures about my woodworking projects. The material that follows is extracted from that journal.

Sept 24 journal entry:
I am back in Toronto for a two week period and decided to make a start at restoring our deck. I expect that I will not get the project completed before winter sets in, but just maybe, with the incentive provided by having to report on progress here plus the very active “encouragement” of Margaret (my wife), it might get done before the snow flies. Here are some pictures taken just as work is getting underway earlier this week:

Deck building 02 -Taken from the north -Work is just underway -small.JPG Deck building 01 -Taken from the east -Work is just underway -small.JPG

The first picture is taken from the north and the second from the east. By the way, last weekend I built the steps that are shown to the right of both pictures; the wood on the steps themselves and on the risers is restored cedar.

The perimeter of the extension is roughly shown by the yellow line in repeated picture below:

Deck building 03 -marked up to show perimeter of deck extension.JPG

Here is the rough plan for the extension:

deck extension plan -small.jpg
 
Restoration and Extension of My 31 Year Old Deck (part 2 of 6)

Sept 24 journal entry (continued):

The first phase of reconstruction was to install new joists in sections where I had to remove the old deck in order to build the shop. This was two years ago. Those sections are to be covered with 2x6 that I took up at that time and have stored ever since. The boards were sanded on all sides with 36 grit paper using my Festool 150 Rotex sander in aggressive mode.

Deck building 04 -Sanding a board 36 grit paper -small.JPG

As you can imagine in this mode and with this grit material gets removed very quickly.

Next the holes were cleaned out then filled with Bondo auto body filler: Here is the filler being mixed:

Deck building 05 -Preparing to mix auto boady filler -small.JPG Deck building 06 -Mixed auto boady filler -small.JPG

After mixing the filler has to be applied within about 4 minutes. I applied it using both a popsicle stick and a putty knife.

After the filler was applied, I waited for about an hour then sanded the top surface of the boards first with 80 grit paper and then with 120 grit paper. A coat of Sikens Cetol SRD (078 Natural) was then applied to all sides. Here are some pictures of a segment the same board going through the above steps:

• Before sanding:
Deck building 07 -Surface of a typical board that is to be restored -small.JPG

• After sanding with 36 grit and hole filling:
Deck building 08 -After sanding with 36 grit and hole filling -small.JPG

• Sanding with 80 grit paper:
Deck building 09 -Sanding with 80 grit paper -small.JPG

• After sanding and application of one coat of stain:
Deck building 10 -After sanding and application of one coat of stain -small.JPG
 
Restoration and Extension of My 31 Year Old Deck (part 3 of 6)

Sept 24 journal entry (continued):

The first thing to do was to replace the “bridge” to my main shop door with restored boards:

Deck building 11-Taken from the back door -Work is just underway -small.JPG Deck building 12 -A small section in front of the door to the shop has finished -small.JPG

In the picture to the right, it has just rained and water is beading on the boards. Notice, the patch on the second board out from the wall.
Here are a couple of photos showing the restored boards being installed on some new joists:

Deck building 13 -Laying the restored boards -picture taken from the west -small .JPG Deck building 14 -Laying the restored boards -picture taken from the east -small.JPG

The boards were quite straight and I only needed to use my BoWrench clamp once:

Deck building 15 -Laying the restored boards -using BoWrench -small.JPG

Now, to work on the already-nailed-down boards. I will need to remove a few of these as well as some sections of others but, for the most part, it will be possible to sand these in place, countersink their nails even further and fill the holes with body filler. Some of these boards are being sanded with 36 grit paper as shown in the photo below:

Deck building 16 -Sanding some boards in place -small.JPG

As well as the deck, two chairs and three planter boxes need to be restored. Here is “before” photo of one of the chairs:

Deck building 17 -There are also two chairs like this one to restore -small.JPG

Oct 1 journal entry:

It rained on and off during the weekend and this is a problem because the boards that are being refinished in place on the deck have to be perfectly dry before they can be sanded. I left Toronto this morning and will not get back to the project for about a week and a half, so I hope for dry weather upon my return. Here is a photo of the deck as I left it this morning:

Deck building 19 -Deck as I left it on the morning of September 25th -small.JPG

There is certainly some work that can be done in spite of the rain and that is the restoration of the chairs and planter boxes. Not only are they badly weathered, but a few parts are cracked and/or broken. My Festool My Festool Deltex sander is perfect for sanding the narrow boards on the back of a chair:

Deck building 18 -Deltex sander is perfect for sanding the narrow boards on the chairs -small.JPG
 
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Restoration and Extension of My 31 Year Old Deck (part 4 of 6)

Oct 8 journal entry:

I returned from Pellow’s Camp to Toronto in the middle of the week to find dry weather, cold but dry. Of course, dry is what is needed to be able to sand, fill, and stain the rest of the old deck. This I managed to do, as well as to install the posts needed for the extension.

Unfortunately, I could not save all the old cedar decking. Here are some photos showing sections being removed:

Deck building 20 -Removing bad sections from the deck -1 -small.JPG Deck building 21 -Removing bad sections from the deck -2 -small.JPG

Note in the second photo how the five stained boards immediately in front of the door are brighter than the stained boards to the left of them and in front of them in the photo. This is because they have had two coats of stain whereas the other boards have only had one. There was discussion recently as to whether one or two coats of Sikkens Cetol SRD should be applied. I am in the two coats camp and this photo illustrates why I am in that camp.
All the kneeling that I was doing on this project finally got to me so, after many years of abusing my knees, I finally invested in some kneepads. Here I am modeling them:

Deck building 22 -Frank models his new kneepads -small.JPG

Stylish aren’t I!

And here I am making use of them:

Deck building 23 -Frank using kneepads when sanding the deck -small.JPG

The picture below shows some of the new boards being installed. Like the original decking the new boards are 2x6 Western Red Cedar.

Deck building 24 -Patching a few places with new wood -small.JPG

Today, I started and finished a job that I had not been looking forward to doing; that is to dig holes for then install the five posts to support the extension. The reason that I dreaded the job is that, when digging the holes for the original deck, I hit lots of crap such as bricks and cement that the builders of our house had dumped outside the foundation. Today I was lucky –all I hit was one rock big rock that meant I had to relocate one hole.

Deck building 25 -Digging a post hole -1 -small.JPG Deck building 26 -Digging a post hole -2 -small.JPG

Thirteen (30 kilo) bags of concrete mix later, we have 5 posts ready to spport beams for the extension:

Deck building 27 -Taken from the east -deck  repaired and posts  poured -small.JPG

Below is a close-up view of the deck I took this evening. All the boards have now been sanded and repaired. The brighter boards in the foreground have just been stained. The boards really soak up the stain and that is why most of the boards in the background look faded. If the dry weather holds tomorrow, I will apply a second coat of stain to the whole deck. This will make it look a lot better.

Deck building 29 -Closer look at refinished part of deck with one coat of stain -small.JPG
 
Restoration and Extension of My 31 Year Old Deck (part 5 of 6)

Oct 15 journal entry:

As promised in last night's journal entry, I put a second coat of stain on the deck today. Here is a photo taken after the stain had dried:

Deck building 30 -Refinished part of deck with two coats of stain -small.JPG

I like the look of different colours and I even kind of like the fact that you can see the repairs. Our deck reminds of the interior our cedar and canvas canoe which is about 80 years old and which was repaired about 20 years ago.

As well as staining I took up the turf in the area of the deck extension.

Deck building 31 -Turf removed under extension area -From north-east -small.JPG

If the rain holds off tomorrow, I will put down thick plastic then cover it with crushed stone. I saved the pile of turfs to use as topsoil in an expensive yard and gardens re-org that is planned for next spring.

Deck building 32 -Pile of turfs -reminds me of L'Anse-aux-Meadows -small.JPG

This reminds me of the turf buildings that we saw at the Viking re-creation habitat at L'Anse-aux Meadows in Newfoundland that Margaret and I visited last June:

Deck building 33 -Turf (peat) walls at L'Anse-aux Meadows -small.JPG

Tuesday was another nice day weather-wise. I only got in about 6 hours work on the deck, but a lot was accomplished. First, the plastic is now spread and covered with about 10 centimetres (4 inches) of crushed stone.

I then installed some to the beams and one of the joists. Leveling the posts to the existing deck is best done with a good old fashioned and inexpensive line level:

Deck building 34 -Line level -small.JPG

For me, it works much better than a modern laser level.

Sticking to the low tech theme, the posts were cut to the correct height with a non-power crosscut saw:

Deck building 35 -Low tech saw -small.JPG

Here is the site as I left it Tuesday afternoon:

Deck building 37 -Stone, some beams, and one joist installed -From east -small.JPG

Things are going very well but I am sorry to say that I have to break off work on this project now and will not get back to it until a week from today at the earliest.

During the day on Thursday, an appointment was cancelled so I had an unexpected 5 hours to work on the deck. As a result, all the beams have been installed, and most of the joists have been installed.

There were a lot of irregular angles to content with but I found that by clamping the 2x6 and 2x8 timbers to the miter gauge I could easily cut most of them.

Deck building 38 -Most of the angles I was able to cut on table saw -small.JPG

I used long spikes on some of the joints:

Deck building 39 -Some joints recieved large nails -small.JPG

Here is the result of Thursday’s labour:

Deck building 40 -Beams all in and joists mostly in -small.JPG

Friday morning early, I drove to London Ontario to spend a long weekend helping my brother-in law Jeff Barker replace a roof on an apartment building, so there was no more work on the deck this week.
 
Boy, that's very nice Frank. Lot's of care and talent going into that shop and deck there.

I've got a couple of questions if I may?....

Do you folks up there build that high off of the ground because of the frost line? Is that code? or was it so you didn't have to dig out a crawl space (a very good reason if you ask me :D )?

In pic number 5 in post #1, pic number 1 in post #3, and the first pic in the Oct. 1 journal, there is something on the returning wall next to the door to the shop. It's about the size of an electric meter but I'm guessing it's a vent of some sort?

Lastly, in pics 1, 2 and 3 of the first post, is that sand on the ground? Was that sand for mixing up spme concrete or something? I don't know what that white stuff is. :D

Very nice looking Frank. Well done.
 
Restoration and Extension of My 31 Year Old Deck (part 6 of 6)

Oct 22 journal entry:

I returned from London Sunday night to find that we had an overnight visitor. Isla, my 6 year old granddaughter had strep throat so was staying at our place rather than going to school the next day. I had expected to find a sick little girl and that was what she was according to Margaret when her mother delivered her earlier in the day. But, when I got home, medicine had kicked in and Isla was a happy bundle of energy and wanting to play with her granddad. So, that is what we did Monday morning. In the afternoon I decided to work some more on the deck and Isla set up “art camp” nearby.

Isla drawing while I work -2 -small.JPG

Here is the drawing that she is working on (now proudly mounted in my shop) in the above picture:

One of the drawings made by Isla while I worked -small.JPG

Shortly after this, I got Isla to stain the boards that are to be placed vertically at the edge of the deck to form a “critter barrier”. She was good, fast, and enthusiastic about the work:

Deck building 41 -Isla staining boards for edge of deck -1 -small.JPG

Except for Monday, the weather was not good this week, and that slowed down work on the deck. Right now I am pre-staining boards in the shop and that is impacting my work on getting the shop tidied up for winter. The picture below shows how the deck perimeter is being built:

Deck building 43 -Work on the deck perimete ditch and fence -1 -small.JPG

And this one, shows the setup for installing deck boards in the rain

Deck building 44 -Decking in the rain -small.JPG

Oct 29 journal entry:

The weather this week was too cold to do any staining outside, so progress on the deck was slow. I have decided where to place the new steps and cut off the joists accordingly. The long (Festool) blade on my Bosch battery-powered jig saw made this task very easy.

Deck building 45 -Cutting off a joist at an angle -small.JPG

Here is picture of the deck as it looked at the end of the week:

Deck building 46 -decking is progressing slowly -small.JPG
 
Boy, that's very nice Frank. Lot's of care and talent going into that shop and deck there.
Thanks Mark.

I've got a couple of questions if I may?....

Do you folks up there build that high off of the ground because of the frost line? Is that code? or was it so you didn't have to dig out a crawl space (a very good reason if you ask me :D )?
I am not sure if you are talking about the house, the deck, or the shop so I will answer those in order. The back door to the house is where it is because the house has a full basement on a lot that slopes somewhat down toward the back of the lot. The deck is as high as it is so that it is level with the floor in the house. The shop is at the level it is so that it is level with both the deck and the house.

In pic number 5 in post #1, pic number 1 in post #3, and the first pic in the Oct. 1 journal, there is something on the returning wall next to the door to the shop. It's about the size of an electric meter but I'm guessing it's a vent of some sort?
That’s a vent for my propane space heater.


Lastly, in pics 1, 2 and 3 of the first post, is that sand on the ground? Was that sand for mixing up some concrete or something? I don't know what that white stuff is. :D
Very funny. :D

Very nice looking Frank. Well done.
Thanks again.
 
November 5 journal entry:

Good progress was made on the deck this week and everything with the exception of the steps has now been built.
The Festool guide rail makes trimming the deck boards at the edge a snap:

Deck building 41 -Trimming the edges -small.JPG

I dug pits and filled then with crushed stone to support each of the three stair stringers:

Deck building 42 -Digging holes to support the stair stringers -small.JPG

Here are a couple of pictures of the deck as it now looks:

Deck building 43 -Deck as seen from the back door -small.JPG Deck building 44 -Deck as seen from the north-east -small.jpg

The leftmost picture is taken from the back door of the house and the rightmost is taken from the north-east (standing in our vegetable garden).

All that remains to do now is to complete the steps and to put a second coat of stain on the new deck boards. I need quite warm weather to do the later, so the task will probably have to wait until next spring.

Oh yes, I almost forget, I also need to refinish the two cedar chairs and the three cedar planters. :(
 
Today, I finished up all the work that will be done this autumn on the deck, that is, I temporarily installed the steps.

The steps are temporarily installed on the deck -small.JPG

There are some changes that I want to make to them, but that will wait until the spring. I also need to put a second coat of stain on the new part of the deck but it is very unlikely to be warm enough to do that until next spring.

In the spring I will also plant a flower garden all around the perimeter.

Notice the two planter boxes in the picture. The box to the right has been restored. The planter to the left is one of the three that I still need to restore (along with two chairs).
 
Back on the 24th of September I said: "I expect that I will not get the project completed before winter sets in, but just maybe, with the incentive provided by having to report on progress here plus the very active “encouragement” of Margaret (my wife), it might get done before the snow flies."

Yesterday, I posted a picture of the "completed" deck.

Twelve hours after finishing, we got the first light snow of the season:

A little bit of snow on the deck -small.JPG

I call that good timing! :D
 
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