First of all, I would like to say hi to everyone here and especially to Gregor for starting this thread. I just joined, but I have been following this thread for the last several months. The remodel has been very interesting and I have learned a few things from it. I am retired from the Alabama Dept. of Transportation as of last year and building things has always appealed to me. From damming up the creek as a kid to inspecting asphalt paving and placing concrete in bridge foundations and decks, light pole foundations to pushing a pencil in order to document the work performed by our contractors, I have enjoyed building things myself or watching others do their work.
I like woodworking, photography, drafting, hiking, building plastic models and reading. Needless to say, I go to several different message boards to satisfy my interests. Now that I have found this thread, I have yet another reason not to get anything done that needs doing. Over the years, I have done several things to our home, namely replacing the vinyl in two bathrooms, ripping up the carpet in all but one room and replacing it with laminate flooring, replaced the valves in the kitchen faucet, mop sink, all of the bathrooms, the shower and eventually replaced the kitchen faucet. I have painted, replaced a couple of light fixtures, built our picket fence, a new gate where one didn't exist and I have just completed a deck remodel.
Several years ago, I had built a frame structure over the 8' x 17' deck and covered that with sheet metal roofing to provide some shade to the deck. The summer heat made the deck pretty much unusable and over the years, a vine that my wife wanted back then became the vine from hell. It grew big enough that it was above the metal roof and trying to get under the shingles. Every year, I would prune it back several feet, but that just didn't do enough for me.
On April 27, 2011, we had an EF-5 tornado pass by about 1 1/2 miles to the south. A lot of homes and business were destroyed, but our house just had some shingle damage. Insurance paid for that. This tornado was on the ground for 132 miles We also had 14 tornado warnings that day and I saw a smaller tornado go by several miles to the north.
On March 2, 2012, we had an EF-1 tornado come through about a half mile to our north and several of our neighbors lost their homes or had significant damage. We lost the metal roof over the deck, but the framing was still there. Ever since then, the deck was exposed to the elements. In March of this year, I decided to replace the deck completely. Because of our dogs, I could only tear out half of the deck at one time and then build the new deck section in its place. After that, I tore out the other half and got it replaced as well. Then it was time to start on the roof over the deck. It has 1 x 6 tongue and groove siding attached to the top of the rafters to minimize the summer heat, and then there is a metal roof on top of sleepers attached to the top of the wood roof. I also built a ramp for the dogs to come up, but that is primarily intended for our older dog. She had surgery on both of her back legs for torn Anterior Cruciate Ligaments.
While the EF-5 tornado was passing by, I stood outside on the old deck taking pictures of it. I can't sat that it sounded like a train. I think I was too caught up in the experience of taking photos of it. While this may sound foreign to some here, I know Gregor will understand them. The camera (Nikon D-700) settings were ISO 1600 for 1/125th second at f2.8. The photos are still quite dark and it was 4:30 in the afternoon.
Anyway, I think I have enlightened everyone here about me for now. Little did I know that I would post such a long introduction for my first post here.
Colin
