Decks Completion
Chris,
Wires actually look pretty good but they are going to be replaced as they are butchered on the other side of the firewall.
Car's a mess but it's a labor of love inspired by another.
TG
TG, I'm a little late congratulating you on your vintage Cougar. You have a
long road ahead of you but just enjoy the journey getting it road worthy. That has it's own rewards. Thanks for sharing.
My first post on the site having been 'pointed towards' your thread by Grizz (Ryan). It has taken me many months if dipping in and out to get up to date.
WOW
An amazing set of builds documented here. Many thanks for taking the time to share them with the world.
Dave
Hi Dave and thanks for the nice words of encouragement. I have no doubt it took many months to take it all in. Glad you feel it was worth the effort. I've got a bunch more headed this way. Stay in touch with us here.
Happy Thanksgiving all, I'm certainly thankful for Chris and Thomas and this thread. David
Many thanks David for the good wishes.
Here are some pictures of "the decks". They were mostly completed in these pictures and as of now, they are all done, just in time for winter.
The stone wall that is hiding the standby power generator will have that blue tarp replaced with a limestone cap. Most likely that will have to wait until spring. As you can see, the stone wall blends in perfectly with the existing stone corner.
Here's an overview of the main deck and the masonry walls on either side of the generator, seen on the left. Note the roof has only 2 penetrations in this view. In fact the roof only has 4 penetrations all together. The fireplace chimney and 3 plumbing vents. The fewer penetrations in a roof, the less places for leaks and is more energy efficient.
Here's a nice view of the back side of the stone wall showing I used brick on the side facing the deck. The generator installation is all done. I also installed on the generator both a block and a battery heater for more reliable starts in the winter. The generator engine uses Mobil 1 synthetic oil, but using a block heater will also help minimize engine wear when staring in super cold (below -0 Fahrenheit) weather. It's programed to automatically start once a week and run for 20 minutes to exercise it. 2 days after in was all done, we had a brief (less than 10 minutes) power outage and it worked perfectly. Ready for winter!
Blind fasteners were used on all the deck boards so there are no fasteners seen. 1/8" (0.3175 cm) stainless steel cable was used instead of conventional balusters on the railing.
It provides for a clean look and doesn't block the view from the deck. On the right side is the ramp...
...that will make getting on and off the deck much easier for older folks.
There are 2 steps from the deck...
...down to the generator. Here's a detail on how the steps were made.
I didn't want end grain showing on side of the bottom step. Biscuits were used to keep everything in the same plane.
There is enough clearance for the fireplace combustion air intake, seen behind the steps,...
...to open and close freely.
This is the other deck off of the garage.
It has 2 ramps. Next spring, a concrete pad will be poured at the end of the ramp on the left.
Azek decking,
https://azek.com/products/decking is what was used for all the exterior material. It requires zero maintenance and all fasteners and hardware are stainless steel.
With all the details involved, the decks were a relatively big project but I'm quite happy with the results. The deck floors and ramps are rock solid, look good and should last a long time. That pretty well concludes all outside house construction, but never fear, there is more material coming this way. Thanks everyone. Have a safe and joyous Holiday.
Thomas
