Showing posts with label deck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label deck. Show all posts

Small projects


Deck railings still need to be built, but I made lattice panels to keep Pepper the dog from visiting the frogs under the deck. I hate, hate the diagonal lattice from Lowe's and HD. Or maybe I just hate that there is only one choice in lattice style. These instructions were useful, using my mom's pnumatic stapler. I've seen this style of lattice under front porches all over town, though mostly under victorians and 1910s houses. Sometimes I think what I really wanted was an even older house.




This is one of the old street markers. It's more aged than the house, I think. There are modern, taller, reflective signs planted next to them, but these still stick up all over the older areas of Jacksonville. This one is across the street from me in a park. All the paint was gone and it was mildewy so I finally re-did it. I debated using reflective letters from the hardware store but thought this way was more authentic. I enlarged the Arial font, cut out the individual letters and traced them onto the scrubbed, primed and painted post, then filled in the outlines with exterior glossy black. At least a full eight hours of work. There is another grungy one across the park, too.

Updates!

Since I don't post often enough, here are some updates. I've been doing little stuff but not much worth writing about. Little stuff like finally tightening a screw on a door hinge.

The heat pump was finally fixed in December. It was all of $85 for a replacement, warrantied fan. The fizzing sound I heard in the attic when I accidentally cut through the thermostat wire? Just the air handler fuse blowing. It cost $60 to replace. It just wasn't the $$ circuit board I lay awake worrying how to pay for. And they added 2 lbs of freon to the condenser. It's a "Coleman" brand pump, just like our camping tent. I had no idea they had a branch of home heating and cooling units until our cheapo flipper installed it here.

Speaking of our flipper-installed unit, we went to the local home and patio show a few weeks ago where we were willingly solicited by several AC companies. A guy came over last Saturday to give us a replacement quote. He was from the company whose booth representatives laughed at us. I told them 1. Our house is 80 years old. 2. Our house is not insulated because 3. the crawlspace floods 3-4 times a year (old creek bed) and is a happy place for mildew. When I said the heat pump was a Coleman, he said, eyebrows raised, "Do you live in a trailer?" (what, an 80 year old trailer??) When we walked away, fully aware of how dysfunctional we must be for having an old house, I heard "whooooeeee!" and lots of laughing. Their field guy was much nicer though, and commented on how clean and accessible the attic was, and told me he's seen far worse in old houses. He left me with a roll of aluminum tape and a $4800 system quote.

Outside of the ongoing deck construction, I've been working on the plant situation. I think flowers are great, but in this small yard there really needs to be lots of practicality. I made a border of sweet banana peppers between rows of dusty miller and hibiscus, and planted sage, dill and rosemary around some small plumbago. In the side yard is lots of parsley, some cilantro, dianthus and that herb which is supposed to be a good substitute for sugar and whose name I can't remember. I seeded basil around the plumbago but the rain has been pretty heavy the last 3 weeks so I need to redo it. I think we've had our last frost, though.

We've tried our third go at exterior paint colors. The colors are either too light, too dark, or seem too much like colors in the neighborhood to our north, where only the brave can live. The trick seems to be finding historical colors that won't cause a run-down drab look. Also, the stores which carry small sizes of trial colors are only open til noon on Saturdays. How can we get the swatches, take them home and view them in all lights, then go back for trial bottles then go back to buy the paint? Everytime I think "It will take 3 Saturdays just to choose the house colors!", I decide to do something else like pruning, instead. This weekend I hope to build and replace a fragile fence portion the renters keep knocking through, and then finish the deck framing.

Dusty miller and baby hibiscus. So unglamorous.

We don't know what to do about mulch because it
keeps floating away!

New stuff to write about!

So I had a lengthy hiatus but did lots of things, and now there are projects, slightly unfinished, to write about.

Bathroom: painted, new light and new mirror cabinet ($8 from thrift shop). The new color IS peanut butter and I don't know how long I'll live with it, cause it's unflattering to me. And I keep craving grape jelly. The next coat will be lighter, and maybe not such an orangey tan. The trim painting is awaiting the wall choice so it could be awhile before the painting is completely finished. The window paint was incredibly thick; to strip it we used the ceramic heater and then after we both became dizzy, used a rotary sander to make lots of lead dust. So, not a project good for our health. It only stripped down to the smooth bottom layer of paint, a milk paint? which is very close to the peanut butter color the walls are now.

Color aside, the most important new thing is the shower rod; it's one continuous bar instead of the expandable kind with the joint that catches curtain rings. What a luxury! For only $6!

The new light fixture is 30's-esque, and wouldn't you know it, I chipped the sink somehow while painting. The curtain is a print of baseballs from last summer, my contribution to my husband's object-related superstitions about the Red Sox and their winning many games and having great luck. Its hanging in the bathroom must be the reason they won the World Series, of course.

Even if I think the color is too intense for such a small room, this is miles from the 70's dark wood strip vanity lighting and cracked plastic door hook, anyway.



The next picture is part two of the deck. It was precursed by debate over levels. We agreed that this section could be sunk down a step for a more private eating area. However, if we ever remove this pair of windows (where you can see the reflection of my hand) and replace them with doors out to the third section of the deck (see trash can), the third section would have to match the floor level of the house or be down a step. Mathematically it seemed best to keep part three at the height of the already-built first section, which matches to the back door threshold. But, if you wanted to walk from the first deck section to the third, you'd go across the corner of the second with a step down-half step ahead-step up. This seemed tedious to me so the deck will now be all one level.

What I Have Learned but Kept Secret!

Looking through my google keyword log, I've noticed that the phrases directing people to Ralph's House are often phrases I mention but never follow up on. I'm sure this is true for many sites. I feel badly that people are directed here and waste .2 seconds of their time scanning my page to discover it has nothing to do with their issue. .2 seconds adds up! So, here is a list of keyword search phrases which I fear pointed uselessly at my blog, and then all the knowledge I know about anything. Actual information, better late than never?

"can I cover up an electrical socket with drywall"

No. Either cover the outlet with a flat plastic plate to block the outlet, from your local electrical parts aisle (this was done with my 220 wall AC outlet, which is still an active circuit although closed off in the 1980s) or remove the wiring and outlet, then patch.


"cauldron shop"

Try Jas. Townsend and Son, Inc., a great place for reenactment clothing. Also, Smoke and Fire.


"drilling in brick deck ledger" (common)

My bricks were too soft and fragile to attempt hammer drilling, so I dug for concrete-based posts right next to the foundation instead. However, you can rent a hammer drill from a local tool rental outfit. Sometimes they insist you rent a bit from them and pay bit insurance, sometimes they let you use your own drill bit. Either way, for us it would have been $60 for several hours' use. My mom recommends Red Head anchor bolts for concrete block. It involves pre-drilling holes in both the wall and your ledger board. The diameter depends on the type of material you are anchoring to. Maybe your hardware store personnel can help. Trying to hammer nails into your brick wall to make holes doesn't work well. This is a good link for general deck construction info: Hometime - they also have a video from the early 90s called, appropriately, "Decks".



"ralph houses"

Unless this is a fancy term for pub, I don't know of any houses where you can get away with this. Ralph does it weekly, and everyday when she ate that new cat food in the green bag with the commercial of the cat doing yoga. Its color didn't match our wood floor very well. I recommend buying food to match your flooring.


"attatching pergola to deck" (common)

Our plan of attachment is for the deck support posts to be the same posts supporting the pergola joists (see bottom of page). I think the latest Lowe's woodworking newsletter gives directions for a pergola (though a little more complicated than it needs to be, I think).


"decking" (common)

We used pressure-treated yellow pine from Lowe's and HD. Pine is plentiful around here. We couldn't afford to use redwood or spruce or composite. I didn't have a drawn plan, just went by measurements and sort of made it up. I say draw out a plan first.


"missing piece of popcorn ceiling"

Ugh, why would you want to replace a missing piece of popcorn? Take it all down!


"my brick home needs tuckpointed bad"

Tom Silva shows how to do this sometime in the 06-07 season of Ask This Old House. Although I'm fairly certain Kevin calls it "ass this old house".

Yes, you can put your water heater in the attic. It does just fine, and if it leaks, it was past time for you to buy a new one anyway! Naughty!

Free undies!

This morning we went out to mow and fertilize. In the ferns, just where our house meets the neighbor's, was an expensive new but probably used pair of men's white underwear. Our neighbor was locked out of his house at 4AM, probably a little wasted too, what with the window screens down and him yelling, but there didn't seem to be a good explanation for the nicely laid-out lingerie. By the time I realized what fun it would be to take a picture of the renter randomness, the underwear was gone.

I know the deck doesn't look so 1920's. Some may say the railing appears out of scale or too busy. Sometimes I like it, sometimes not. If only I could have Martha Stewart 1928, on call to answer my questions about lights and cabinetry and plants and dinner. I do tons of period research, but I hardly ever look at it. The research is more fun than planning the project. And I'm encouraged to be an impulsive shopper, although I move like a snail when making decisions.

However, the pine will only last 15 years in our climate (ooh, even less if a hurricane comes along! not that I'm asking), and then something else will go up. Besides, the deck rail is good practice for the eventual front porch railing, which will have wider, flat boards, closer together.

I have good pictures of a pergola, for the deck extension, from 1928. I will follow the picture this time. That helps me feel I'm making progress toward restoration rather than just adding on. And because our brick was too soft to attach ledger boards to, the only alteration done to the house was to knock out the top two steps, which were cracking up anyway. My theory on restoration is to only do things which won't cause future loss (i.e. cracks in the foundation) and can be reversed. Pergola:

Wow, I want a house for $696. Elmhurst #3 (top right) is most similar to our layout. Looking at this now, maybe beefing up the posts (hee says the vegetarian) will help my deck, and perhaps by adding more balusters? And window boxes with cascading vegetation. Totally. Or what if this car was parked in front of it?

Steps to a happier, healthier deck

Because, who wants to fall off the deck?

The balusters were cut as one piece.











This Old House #2615 described how to frame the balusters with lath and then mount them on the rails, rather than toenailing. Instead of staples, I used 1 1/4" self-drilling screws in my lath. These screws also secured the lath to the top railing, from the underside.













The bottom railing is screwed into every other baluster from the bottom, with 2 1/2" deck screws.














View from the underside, attatching rail to post.















This may happen to our deck someday.














Please take this cat home with you. Not only is he pettable, with parti-colored eyes; he now has carpentry skills.

A month of events

The irresponsible and overwhelmed neighbors with the five kids (+ a new baby) moved out!! They left approx. 70 cubic feet of trash on their front lawn (all weeds anyway) which for three weeks has been steadily rained on and picked through by passers-by. The tenants threw out all their furniture, matresses, beds, and piles of cardboard boxes with junk inside. Last weekend they came back from their new digs and replaced interior hollow-core doors, and painted, and also tossed a dishwasher (they must have brought it with them from their old house?) As delicious icing on this tasty cake, an hour before the end of February they jumpstarted their mini-van with the flat tires, parked on the street since July. Goodbye!

I observed all the action while building the deck railings. There is one more railing to go, and then onto phase two, continuing around the side of the house. I was dumbfounded on how to build railings; I hate toenailing because I always split the wood, but then I saw an episode of This Old House's Boston House in which Tom rebuilds an old railing. I'm glad I decided to go with a common railing, anything fancier would have been even more frustrating with the bizzaro stair angles.

That white and brown tail at the bottom of the steps is another thing the neighbors threw out, literally. His carrier was also in the trash pile. He's very, very sweet, and has one blue and one green eye. Anyone need a great cat?






John Quincy Adams and Ralph did this to Ralph's pirate toy. They pulled down his pants and tore his brains out. I can't find his eyes. Sounds very piratey to me.

Railing

Our house is plain on the outside; all the brickwork and original stucco is hidden under the 70's stucco, and most of its limited period woodwork was removed with the installation of new electrical service and also when the stucco was put on and porch rebuilt. A passing neighbor commenting on the improved state of the yard even mistook her 1940s house as older than mine. We look like more like a run-down house rather than the more charming run-down bungalowesque house. Because of this, I'd like to have a different deck railing, that didn't look so everyday. Not only is it a deck, it's also our back entrance.

I think this Chippendale bench pattern would be nice as a deck railing, but slow to piece. I also wonder that if I made it, it would become convex and net-like, if one leaned against it.

Pockets of trellis squares framed into the railing?



The eventual pergola will give it some character too, but it won't be visible from the street.


more decking

I planned on using concrete paving blocks and bricks to make a stair pad and a path, but J was outside and said, "hey, can you use this leftover bag of concrete for something?" And there it is, immovable and gray. You may see in the bottom picture how its lack of mobility could induce frustration in someone who has a picky personality; it nearly almost lines up with the stair bottom. It's just a visual thing; the pad does support the steps.



Here is John Quincy Adams, literally claiming the stairs. The stairs were only about 10 min. old but there she was and she growled when I called her inside for dinner. Maybe she growled because her name is John Quincy Adams.

Here you can kinda see how the stair bottom and concrete pad unevenly match. The stairs come off the deck at a slight angle; what angle that is, I do not know. Perhaps that's where the pad went wrong? Also, the sun was going down when we poured it and J was tired of me telling him what to do. With the house, it seems I'm the tactician and he's the grunt.

If the stairs were fabric, I'd make a pleat in the right riser, where the top joins the joist, and re-cut the top step from scraps. There would only be a slim angle of step to step on, then, but since the stairs are fabric, falling wouldn't hurt too much. Then pad & stairs would line up.

Anyway, the stairs avoid the cleanout and buried pipes yet stay in the logical flow of traffic. I'm very proud of my angle and use of skewable hangers. The Strongtie website listed an angled riser hanger but neither of the local Lowe's or HD had it. When I remembered the small hardware store on the corner I was cranky and three blocks from home and skeptical they'd have it either. Now I'm going to figure out the post location for the railings.

deck time-elapse











My elaborate system of garden stake, chair and stool helped me achieve a decent square, within 3/8". All by myself, whilst J was at work. But really, it's job for the stakes and twine. The ledger board is on posts rather than be attatched to the house, because the bricks and mortar are too soft to support it. Which was a relief because the hammer drill was $60 per day plus bit rental.


4" Posts are cemented in, outside box mostly attatched. Part of the steps still remain, for my purist self, but we bonked up most of it and used the rubble to fill a hole under the house. The few salvageable bricks are going to be the footer for the steps. In an unrelated moment of frustration I found a mauve-y half brick that has "28" drawn into it, but I couldn't find its other half or its meaning.


Half of the deck boards are on now, with pretty fall leaves on top. The three posts (plus one later) will hold up the railings, and the steps come down the left side, curved to the right to miss the pvc sewer cleanout and buried pipe. J hammered in half the joists. Thank you, J!

Ironically, the only place in the yard with super green, thick grass (I thank the day in May when the sewer cleanout overflowed) is being covered up by this deck and its steps.

Eventually, another section of deck will come off the right side, ending below those double windows. On that section, I'd like to connect a pergola near the roofline, integrating the posts supporting the deck. The Jax Building Inspections Dept. said this requires a permit because it makes the deck more than 32" tall -- although my deck surface itself isn't more than 32" from the ground. Perhaps she misunderstood my explanation. Perhaps the inspector who comes for the shed can elaborate.



Resident opossum. It's so ugly and moves so slowly.

J's leg is stronger than brick!

Scratch the wimpy attic door installation, we went tough this weekend and whacked out the ant-infested back steps with a sledgehammer. The steps were several layers of soft bricks set onto a rough pile of concrete with many gaps serving as bug nests, and worsened over the years by tree roots. The tree wrapped itself around the corner of the laundry room, 10-ish inches from the steps, and was one of many cut down last year before we bought the house. Maybe the tree company wanted extra for the intricate work of dislodging the stump from the corner of the house. Maybe they just suck. The 2' tall stump needed to be reduced to make way for the 2x10 ledger board, so I carved chunks from it with the reciprocating saw. The heart of it is knotty, red and hard, as it's somehow still alive, and it took about 25 minutes to slice an 8x3 section out of the top. So I stopped short of my stump-removal fantasy. Enough was carved away to install the board for the new 7' square deck section, which replaces the steps and gives us somewhere to stand with the groceries while we unlock the door. By the time we get to the deck extension the stump should have dried enough to cut away.

We weren't sure what to do with the remaining rubble from the steps; few of the bricks in the step section were stronger than the ant-infested mortar holding them together. Especially the purple ones. We finished off most of them and are filling in the mystery ditch under the dining room with the rubble.

As a purist, it hurt to remove the original steps and metal tube handrail, but the steps hadn't been cared for, and accessing their poor-quality guts to stop the bug problems would have required the destruction of the brick sides anyway. There was a somewhat modern flyswatter embedded in an internal patch; perhaps the ants have been there for years. The mortar in the side sections was soft and damp, like white sandy clay and must have been ant tunnel heaven.

A bag of frozen brussels sprouts and three aspirin before bed worked great for J's minor leg+sledgehammer accident. J is concerned that if the step bricks are this soft (softer than his leg!), will the house foundation bricks hold the ledger board screws? I'm hoping so, they seem to be a different type and are still in good shape, despite the tree stump and roots.

From VanDykes Restoration I ordered a new mortise lock set, $16, for the non-functioning bathroom door latch. It had the option of a thumb-turn or skeleton key lock, and I chose the key. It seems cooler, plus you can peek into the bathroom when the door is locked!
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