I think this quote has always been the culmination of my textbook type A personality. But I keep trying to just let it go.
As stated, the summer started out great. A quick trip to NF followed by a hot week in Golden. Bit of a cooker for deck building but I did make some good progress and basically ready to hit the decking in August.
I left Golden July 3rd to get back to Calgary. Snapped this pic before leaving. The thermometer is in the shade.
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| 32 in the Shade |
So on to our August long week in the woods.
Step 1:
Life's lessons about pressure treated lumber:
Pressure treated lumber (ACQ) is nowhere near as dry as standard lumber. They say that the moisture content can vary on ACQ lumber, which basically means it's totally wet when you buy it and you may want to fasten it down right away. Forty Four 12"x 10" joists went like hockey sticks after drying out for a month strapped to the house. This meant the extra task of double blocking every joist and even having to replace 6 that had warped so bad they weren't recoverable. About an extra 2 days work.
Step 2:
Get cedar delivered and start staining. I'm told that it's best to stain all four sides of your decking to prolong life. A bit time consuming, but thankfully Lara was up to the task.
Step 3:
Start fastening. This part of the job took quite a bit more time than I'd care to admit. I honestly thought it would go faster, but when you start out, clearly there's no deck to put anything on, so every piece means measure, climb to ground, cut, climb back up, fasten, start again. When I finally got 6-8 pieces down I was able to move the saw up on the deck and work from there. Things really started to move at that time.
Realize you didn't quite measure for enough decking. Fairly disappointing but ultimately not a really big deal. I figure I missed the count by about 12-16 pieces (about 3 rows). Not great, but it's going to take a week or so for them to get in. Should be a manageable afternoon job when I get out there next weekend. Even unfinished, adding ~550 square feet to the front of the house makes for a really nice area to hang out.
Step 5:
Hang out with Paddy, who is getting pretty familiar with the whole cabin lifestyle and making due with what you have, even his new hat which doubles as a kitchen utensil. Of course this was before the macaroni dinner.
Followed by the macaroni dinner.
Followed by a short story time on the deck before bed.
So a few sticks left to tack down. Not such a big deal although the uncompleted task is pretty fatiguing.
One thing I did learn in this process is just how high the front of our place really is when you extend it out 12'. As Ace has observed and Lara keeps reminding me...may want to advance the installation of a railing as quick as possible. Maybe the garage will have to wait.....boo.
Cheers
Peter
