Deck Replacement

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 Wow- it's not cheap. I'm good at some DIY stuff but not up to the task of ripping out an existing deck and putting in a new one so I'd be n the hook for installation, too. The heat factor would be a big minus for me- I'm a barefoot person. Good info, though.

I had my heart set on composite decking, so did not even price out other options. Just now, found out that Ipe and cumaru are less expensive. The truth is I prefer the look of real wood, but, but, but all that work in maintenance with this big deck...

The only way I will regret the decision is if this Transcend grade fails to live up to their claim. I would have to come launch a board through their headquarters window.

About the composite deck being hot, no kidding. But no splinters. The sunlight is so intense here that when the sun is out in midday, you will not want to be out on the deck anyway.

Not all of my deck is exposed to the sun, only the triangular center section that is shown in the photo. The sides are covered, and about 1/2 of the total area. It's where we have a swing, grill, and patio furniture.

[haha]

I wish I could understand how contractors, craftsmen and Home Depot et al ever convinced homeowners to go into these expensive, time consuming and prone to failure projects. I guess it consumes time and money more or less harmlessly, if nobody falls off a ladder. Like the old NW Indian custom of potlatch - gift expensive and useless things, to prove that you can afford it and also to goad your neighbor into falling into the same trap and exhausting his resources so you alone will emerge King of the Hill.

BTW NW, good luck on your project!

Ha

[W2R]

NW-Bound, your deck, as shown in the photo in post #31, is absolutely lovely.

I don't have a deck at this house, but I do have a small (10'x10'?) concrete patio. I always intended on sitting out there, but so far I have never actually done that. I was going to buy a pretty wrought iron bench to put there, but then I remembered what a drag it is to bring in such heavy things when hurricanes threaten. I do have a light and portable canvas camp chair, so one of these days I may take it out for a few minutes and sit there.

My ex and I had a wooden deck back in Texas, and he would grill out there now and then. After a few years, a female possum decided to have and raise her babies underneath it. I was not too happy about that because possums look like crazed alien Martian rats to this city girl, especially in the moonlight. Not that all decks have possums, but I just thought it was an amusing story.

[Music Lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by haha I wish I could understand how contractors, craftsmen and Home Depot et al ever convinced homeowners to go into these expensive, time consuming and prone to failure projects. I guess it consumes time and money more or less harmlessly, if nobody falls off a ladder. Like the old NW Indian custom of potlatch - gift expensive and useless things, to prove that you can afford it and also to goad your neighbor into falling into the same trap and exhausting his resources so you alone will emerge King of the Hill.

I guess I didn't get the memo...I built a 16x16 deck in a weekend for $1,000. Then, the next weekend I built a 12x18 deck for about the same cost. It's been 10 or 12 years and neither deck has failed, and neither project has goaded my neighbor into bankruptcy trying to keep up...

[Hermit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R NW-Bound, your deck, as shown in the photo in post #31, is absolutely lovely. I don't have a deck at this house, but I do have a small (10'x10'?) concrete patio. I always intended on sitting out there, but so far I have never actually done that. I was going to buy a pretty wrought iron bench to put there, but then I remembered what a drag it is to bring in such heavy things when hurricanes threaten. I do have a light and portable canvas camp chair, so one of these days I may take it out for a few minutes and sit there. My ex and I had a wooden deck back in Texas, and he would grill out there now and then. After a few years, a female possum decided to have and raise her babies underneath it. I was not too happy about that because possums look like crazed alien Martian rats to this city girl, especially in the moonlight. Not that all decks have possums, but I just thought it was an amusing story.

We had a small deck in Virginia. We hardly used it at all. It was too hot and humid or too cold and humid all but a couple of weeks in the spring and fall.
Here in Colorado I will have a deck front and back and use them all the time, including a lot in the winter. That is what we did when we lived in Denver before we moved to Virginia.

[imoldernu]

NW-Bound... and everyone who has gone through the deck replacement saga.
Great and satisfying work... good on ye!

I suppose that my 400s.f. deck at Woodhaven could use a re-do, but this aging body, and flattening pocketbook will have to see it though the rest of my time there. Was built in 1975 along with the add-a-room. Aside from Thompson's Water Seal sprayed on every other year, no care at all. Except for some shrinkage of the treated 2x4's (space between planks) the deck is still strong, though the wood has turned grey.

Absolutely no other care such as power washing, sanding or any kind of cover, snow removal or repair.

Not the prettiest, but it's camping, it works, and gets plenty of use in the summer.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R My ex and I had a wooden deck back in Texas, and he would grill out there now and then. After a few years, a female possum decided to have and raise her babies underneath it. I was not too happy about that because possums look like crazed alien Martian rats to this city girl, especially in the moonlight. Not that all decks have possums, but I just thought it was an amusing story.

Our first Texas house had a wooden deck and it had Possums too. But our Golden Retriever took care of the whole family in short order. Never had them again in the rest of the time we were there.

[EastWest Gal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by athena53 Wow- it's not cheap. I'm good at some DIY stuff but not up to the task of ripping out an existing deck and putting in a new one so I'd be n the hook for installation, too. The heat factor would be a big minus for me- I'm a barefoot person. Good info, though.

This is one of the reasons I chose Cumaru. It's pretty expensive but cheaper than Ipe. And unlike Ipe, it is a sustainable wood. Not nearly as hot as artificial Trex. With care it should last as long as the house, maybe longer. I'm impressed with it's durability, beauty, and the fact that it doesn't burn my feet the way the old deck did. We had a hot tub off the deck, a chopped off affair. When the hot tub died we decided to replace it with something I could enjoy for exercise. We realized the old deck was a problem, so I googled and went to home shows and came to this decision.

We chose an Angie's list A rated company with multiple hardwood decks under their belt.

We embrace the once a year upkeep and this we do ourselves. I wouldn't trust it to a no-knowledge deck company. The results speak for themselves. The smoothness on the feet, reasonable temperature, and the solid feel are as good as it looks. If it's too hot, umbrellas and a hose-down really help.

Decks.com has a lot of good info.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Lover I guess I didn't get the memo...I built a 16x16 deck in a weekend for $1,000. Then, the next weekend I built a 12x18 deck for about the same cost. It's been 10 or 12 years and neither deck has failed, and neither project has goaded my neighbor into bankruptcy trying to keep up...

Good point. Allow me to apologize for my obnoxious post. Really, I am just too lazy to do home improvement and I detest Home Depot. I do do what I have to to stay safe and warm etc, and I am soon going to get a new kitchen range. But I am lazy and cheap, a problematic combination for a homeowner.

Ha

[NW-Bound]

I have not seen possums up here. Too high elevation for them? Actually, I have not seen possums in AZ.

But for a while, I found droppings on the deck that looked too small to be from a mouse. Chipmunks?

Took me a while to discover that they came down from where the eave of the home met the patio cover. Squinting, I thought there was something high up there, but it was in a dark corner so it was hard to see. By using my camera with 40x zoom, I then was able to see it, a tiny animal a bit larger than a thumb.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Our first Texas house had a wooden deck and it had Possums too. But our Golden Retriever took care of the whole family in short order. Never had them again in the rest of the time we were there.

We should have borrowed your dog!

[Texas Proud]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 Our first Texas house had a wooden deck and it had Possums too. But our Golden Retriever took care of the whole family in short order. Never had them again in the rest of the time we were there.

LOL... our deck has a hot tub on one side and Possums live there... DW gets mad when they come out at night when she is in the hot tub and they look at her!!!

But, our backyard seems to be a zoo (as someone said to us)... we have two feral cars (one is nice and we can pet it), a couple of possums, at least one raccoon, I have seen a turtle walking by and now the birds seem to be coming to eat the cat food we put out...


BTW, she has also run the raccoon off a few times hitting it with a stick

[Texas Proud]

BTW, our deck was getting pretty bad... so I took a planner to it and got rid of the worst parts and then we put a good stain on top... they are not in the best shape but still pretty good...


I started to use sandpaper, but it was taking too long... the planer was much faster.... but could not get down to good wood, but it was much better than what I had...


Just a question to some here.... is the bottom of the wood you remove in good shape? I have always thought that you could just flip it over and put a good stain on and it would be good to go...

[Ronstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I have not seen possums up here. Too high elevation for them? Actually, I have not seen possums in AZ. But for a while, I found droppings on the deck that looked too small to be from a mouse. Chipmunks? Took me a while to discover that they came down from where the eave of the home met the patio cover. Squinting, I thought there was something high up there, but it was in a dark corner so it was hard to see. By using my camera with 40x zoom, I then was able to see it, a tiny animal a bit larger than a thumb.

Could be a shrew. Mouselike, but with a pointed nose.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Texas Proud ... Just a question to some here.... is the bottom of the wood you remove in good shape? I have always thought that you could just flip it over and put a good stain on and it would be good to go...

Ah hah! Frugal minds think alike.

I did contemplate doing that, but quickly changed my mind after I removed the first few planks and turned them over. The photo below shows a couple of boards that were overturned so you can see the underside.

Yes, much of the wood is salvageable, but it is not easy to re-use them.

1) First, they would need to be reconditioned, and I do not know if one can remove all the stain marks from the joist imprints.

2) They all have rotted ends, and the ends must be cut off. How much to cut off depends on each board and that has to be evaluated.

3) And then, nearly all are warped and bowed to varying degrees. To lay them down straight, you would need something to force them into position, while you screw them down to the joists. A heck of a lot of work.

4) Unless you cut off exactly 16" off each end in order to use the old screw holes, you will have old screw holes showing throughout the boards. That looks bad.

5) It is not likely to look good or last that long for a lot of work, and I will have put in more screw holes into the joists. If the joists need to be replaced the next time, it is going to hurt the wallet book like the dickens.

So, I quickly came to the conclusion that I need to spend money now, and save on the amount of work and a lot of aggravation later on.

By the way, I will be sure to apply sealer on all the ends of the boards that I use in any project from now on, for example the stained redwood railing that I am thinking of putting in. All these boards got rotted from the ends due to water seeping into the grain.

Proper preparation takes time, and to pay somebody to do the right thing will cost a lot of money. It's not hard just time consuming, and I have time as a retiree.

By the way, I gave these boards to a neighbor, and he was glad to haul it off my property. He was going to build a treehouse for his grandkids.

[NW-Bound]

Here is another photo showing the deck, but viewed from the other side of the house. It was still unfinished when this photo was taken, as you can see.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ronstar Could be a shrew. Mouselike, but with a pointed nose.

I intentionally did not identify the animal to see what would be offered as its identity.

I could not tell what it was until I sprayed it with water to run it off. It flew off!

It was a very small bat. It returned a few months later, and this time I sprayed it with chlorine using a garden sprayer. Will see how long till it comes back.

[nphx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound And along the perimeter of the house, the siding was put on top of the deck. Arghhh!

toe kick saw - from harbor freight?

[NW-Bound]

No, I did not have nor use one. I did not want to cut the old board ends, but remove them completely to stick the new ones under the siding. You can see that in the photo in post #76.

So, I managed to remove all the screws while trying to mess up the siding as little as possible. A bit of touch up with new stain will cover up the nicks and scratches.

[trapperjohn]

Does anyone have experience with concrete deck tiles as a decking surface? I'm not talking about the thin matts that you can put over existing deck surfaces. Rather, these tiles (from what I've read) are about an inch thick, concrete, but with some beautiful finished surfaces, 24x24 or 16x16, and able to support 1000 lbs per tile. Supposedly impervious to water, mold, stains, etc. They also won't char or burn like wood, trex, or composite if you have a nearby fire pit that throws sparks.

To install, you only have to glue the tile directly to the joist with an exterior-type glue. If I understand correctly, you have to add a "sister" joist alongside each existing joist to provide more glueing surface. No screwing required.

They're expensive and get very hot in direct sun, but are truly maintenance free.

I'm thinking of replacing our 25 year old deck surface with them, but I don't know anyone with any experience using them. No local hardware or lumber store supplies them, so I would have to pay for shipping. And I'm not sure I want to take on the project, but I don't know anyone with any experience installing them.