New Deck

[AJ]

The process got started today. Looking forward to some grilling in the backyard soon!

 

[YSOSLO]

Looks like a small deck/landing outside the backdoor and then a larger deck level with the garage service door sill, so you'd step up onto the deck from the driveway and step down into the yard...is that right? Is it going to wrap around the house over by where the hose is hanging as well? If so, are you worried about it blocking light from that low basement window?

 

[AJ]

Looks like a small deck/landing outside the backdoor and then a larger deck level with the garage service door sill, so you'd step up onto the deck from the driveway and step down into the yard...is that right? Is it going to wrap around the house over by where the hose is hanging as well? If so, are you worried about it blocking light from that low basement window?

Yup, step up from the driveway and down into the yard. It actually won't wrap around the house, that corner is going to be finished up soon with a rain barrel, currently already in the photo. it just needs to be moved about 6 inches closer to the rain gutter for the hose we have.


More pics..

Framing is being done today.

 

[AJ]

moar

 

[YSOSLO]

Not at all what I was expecting so far (I didn't think the part by the door would be more than 4x6 with a couple of steps down to the main deck, rather than the big deck way up high), but I'm intrigued to see how it all comes together. What are you guys going to use for decking? Are you going with green-treated or something maintenance-free?

 

[Big Nate]

I like it a lot. Great use of all the space. Adding a grill at the same level as the kitchen is great.

 

[AJ]

Some more form yesterdays work. Framing inspection is Tuesday, with hopes of getting it squeezed in today. If today we could be done by the weekend. And we are using green-treated for material. This isn't our final home and we hope to sell in the next 5 years, so for us it was cost containment.

 

[Jana]

Yeah, it's a really hard space to try and get usable sq ft with the door off our mudroom and the first door off the garage. I've had about 3 or 4 companies out to look at it, and finally got a design that works. And we found someone who does this stuff as side jobs so we are able to save several thousand. The first deck off the house is 12x9 and will have a small seating area with the grill, and the lower deck is 10x10 and will have more of the seating for entertaining. After this is done we can do some more landscaping around the deck & garage and get the lillac trees along the back fence trimmed. Excited to have a deck to sit on by this coming weekend!!!

 

[niterydr]

Looks good!!!

 

[YSOSLO]

Great-sized decks! Now that the lower deck is framed out, it's a lot easier to see what the final result will probably end up looking like. So what are you planning on doing for the railings?

 

[Jana]

Great-sized decks! Now that the lower deck is framed out, it's a lot easier to see what the final result will probably end up looking like. So what are you planning on doing for the railings?

Umm, normal railings? Actually, I contemplated other options, but am going with the same look as our front deck with just standard wood spindles.

 

[YSOSLO]

My main reason for asking was because I've seen the standard wood, but the iron spindles and horizontal cables also seem to be fairly popular right now. I hope you guys are planning on screwing down the decking, especially with Lily walking around (sorry if I misspelled her name, I have friends with a "Lily" and I confuse the spelling of the two). My brother-in-law has a wooden deck with the decking nailed down and every year he has nail heads popping up that can cause painful injuries if they aren't knocked back down. Screw 'em down and you're done for good.

 

[AJ]

There has been a mix of nails and screws, but the nails have also been pounded down further after the initial nailing, so we should be good, at least for a while.

Oh, and it's Lilli, short for Lillian.

 

[AJ]

new pics added. Just a little bit left and it's done. We will finish it off with some basic landscaping around the deck, going about a foot or two out with mulch and some year round bushes on the side closest to the garage, but otherwise we are happy with how this is turning out. Will provide a nice landing area for getting out the door and grilling up top, and a nice open seating area down below.

 

[Big Nate]

WOW I love it. The two level thing really works in that area. Great transition from house to yard if you ask me.

 

[YSOSLO]

I've gotta say, this thing looks SOLID! Nicely proportioned and works really well with the site (house/garage/yard and how the 3 come together). I'm also impressed with how quickly it's going up! This would have taken me about 2yrs or so to build...lol I'd love to get the name of the guy that's building it for you, because we're probably going to be doing a deck in 2 or 3yrs at the most.

 

[AJ]

Couple other photos. It's ready for final inspection right now. One that's done on this coming Tuesday he is coming back to finish the bottom lattice pieces, 2 siding pieces on the house, and then build a small set of stairs out the back garage door.

From there we will even out the grass that was dug and fill the one side with some rock, and put some of the dirt back where it is needed, while tossing the other shit out by the Lilac bushes.

I'd be happy to give the name of the guy who helped us, it's Jana's co-workers neighbor. Great guy, communication is good, and being a Licensed Contractor he's well aware of all the code. Plus when I open the garage up last night it was clean as when they started the job, he stored all the material and supplies in there during the time.

 

[Jana]

FYI - the guy who built is not the guy who designed. I had a few companies come out to design, and this was the one I liked best - just did not want to pay their price so I found someone to do it on the side.

 

[Workdawg]

This might seem like a dumb question, but is that legal?

If I were a contractor and someone wanted me to design something for them, I'd argue intellectual property or something on that design if they chose to use it, but have someone else actually do the work.
Unless you actually paid for the design.

Kinda seems like you used the pros to get a cool design, then kicked them off the project and brought in someone cheaper to do it.

 

[Jana]

If you want to argue legality of it, it's not the "exact" design. But if you want to pay about $5K more for a deck, go for it. I couldn't swing it & needed something done this year. The company I had out gave me an estimate with a basic hand drawing. I didn't pay or commit to anything. They left it with me. If companies are concerned, they wouldn't do that.