The new back deck

Ever since Hurricane Sandy back in October last year we have not had a back deck. We kept the door locked so that if we tried to go out there by mistake, the locked door would stop us falling.

Finally it was warm enough for the new back deck to be built. By warm enough I mean just above freezing.

A bloke turned up with a big truck and this nifty fork lift and brought the wood, nails and concrete down to the back of the house.

There are quite a few photos in this blog since this is an easy way to document the process. Now I know what brand of nails and post anchors were used.

The crew of three turned up at 7 am and after a brief discussion to determine what was to be done, work commenced with the digging of the holes for the footers.

They dug the holes for the 6 x 6 posts.

Knowing that they did not need an audience supervising, I kept out of the way and just listened to the banging, hammering and sawing.

By late afternoon they called it quits for the day and I went out to see what had been accomplished in just one day.

The main deck was installed.

Even one of the risers for the steps had been installed.

No, the 6 x 6 posts are not crooked, that is the camera's fault.

This would have taken me weeks to accomplish by myself. The next day while I was away doing the trip to New York, they were back again. It was dark by the time I got home but I was able to walk out on the deck with the composite boards.

The next morning work the Amish guy was back building the steps.

Yes, the deck has a point to it like the Titanic. I doubt it will sink since the deck feels very solid and strong.

Steps more of less finished  except for the railings.

After a good deal of discussion, Marianne decided on wooden lattice for the railings. I thought she didn't like lattice but it turned out she did.

So the new deck is narrower at the end closest tt the road and the steps now go down parallel to the house. The other end is much wider. We were not sure how it would turn out but we like the new shape.

Details of the railings.

The railing almost done. The posts are cedar and the lattice is pine. Eventually there will be a cedar railing on top.

The new back door downstairs.

The finished product. We are really pleased how the wide area turned out. There should be plenty of room for a new barbecue. 

It is supposed to get up to about 40 degrees on Wednesday so we can start staining the railing.

So the gang tidied everything up, loaded their caravan and headed off. 

So here it is. It took them four days but for two of the days, there was only the Amish bloke working on it. The 6 x 6 posts need to dry out for a few months before they can be stained so I will do them just before going off to Europe in May.

The roof is repaired

Yesterday there was progress on repairing the roof. A big dumpster was installed and a pile of shingles were delivered. Apparently it will take one to two days to install the new shingles and fix the overhang.

After a few days of rain the bloke who is doing the repairs turned up with two others to repair the roof. 

A nice empty dumpster but not for long.

A large truck delivered the OSB boards. The original roof was the panels that formed the body of the house. The original builder laid a layer of insulating foam on top with the original shingles on top of the foam. The new solution was to remove the original shingles and lay the OSB boards on top of the foam, nailed in of course. A plastic sheet for ice and water protection would lie on top of the OSB and the new shingles would be laid on top of the plastic sheet. The layer of OSB (a variety of plywood) would provide extra protection from falling branches. 

One of the blokes removing the old shingles. One of the other workers is Amish and I made sure not to include him in any photos since they prefer not to have their photo taken.

The new shingles and the ice and water plastic sheeting. These photos are good for documenting what was actually put up there.

It doesn't look too appetizing after 26 years. The original tar paper is not as flexible or strong as the new ice and water shield.

OSB overhangs to be cut off with a circular saw.

After lunch I went for my usual three mile walk to train for my walk across England next year. It was odd to see the house like this. The light colored roof really made a difference.

This photo was taken from about half a mile away from our house through the woods. Usually I can make out our neighbour's houses but not our house. Not this time. There it was in the center of the photograph.

Repairing the roof overhang.

Covered with the OSB boards.

The dumpster is no longer pristine. At the end of the day, the crew went around and cleaned up all the mess.

More work on the overhang. These photos are useful documentation.

The gang worked solidly from 8 am to 5 pm. I don't think they took a break in the entire nine hours.

The gang turned up just after 7 am and started work again. Fortunately we were already awake and ready for the banging to continue. By about 9 am they had put this aluminium drip shield around the perimeter of the roof. Back in 1986, this sort of technology was not readily available. 

They also replaced a few of the facia boards that protect the roof panels.

The new OSB roof.

A layer of ice & water shield on top of the OSB. It's like a very thick tar paper but with a plastic interior.

One of the repaired overhang panels that had been destroyed by the tree.

The roof ready for the new shingles.

Remember that empty dumpster from earlier in the blog.

Laying the shingles. Because it is so cold (under 40 degrees), it will take a while for the shingles to warm up and relax so that they mold to the roof. 

Almost done. They finished just before 5pm. It took them just two days to do all this work. It would have taken me months. 

Next morning we went out for an inspection.

The dumpster ready to be moved. 

It gave me a new appreciation of just how hard builders work these days and also how materials and techniques have improved from 26 years ago.

Work on the new deck will start sometime after Christmas.