Backyard Remodeling Project

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Setting the Piers (December 31, 2000 - January 1, 2001) The plan called out for 19 piers, so there would be a pier every 6 ft. I planned out where the piers were to be located, and we all helped dig the holes. The water level really helped making sure the holes were deep enough.
Digging the holes	Lining them all up	They look to be in line, but a few had to be enlarged to make them line up.

Once all were dug, the concrete piers were set in concrete - about 1/3 of a 80lb bag per hole. Again, the water level really helped!	All the wood (4x6 16' PT beams, 2x6 16' PT joists, 2x8 16' cedar rim joists, and 1x6 16' ironwood), courtesy of San Jose Forest Products. Delivered to the driveway.	Moved to the backyard. Ironwood should be called "leadwood". Two boards weighed as much as the 4x6 PT beams. Two at a time, 62 boards, 31 trips -- driveway, around the front, through the side gate, to the backyard.
Building the Deck (the weekends of January 6-7 and 13-15, 2001)
Since I knew I'd never get all the piers at exactly the same height, I designed the construction using short posts.	Each post was measured, cut, and dipped in end solution - since these will be in contact with the piers and dirt - but not much water since most of the deck will be covered with a sunroom.	Everything was put together with joist hangers. We used hundreds (about 850 or so) of screws - filled all the holes. It took a few trips to get all the right kind of joist hangers, but only a couple left over!
Building the substructure took several days. Once everything was in place, we put down 6mil plastic as a vapor barrier. Of course, it rained after that!
Need to put a hatch over the crawlspace entry.	Starting to lay the boards. Two screws per board at 24" intervals.	Had to add some substructure adjacent to the pool. This area will be under the retractable security cover and not walked on at all. The joists are just supporting the weight of the ironwood.
The plastic is down, before the rain.	More substructure adjacent to the pool.	More substructure adjacent to the back door.
After many days and hours: Checking the boards for the "good side" Testing the fit Marking the holes Pre-drilling with a countersink Squeezing the boards into place Screwing in two deck screws per board every 24" I did underestimate by 2 boards and there was one cracked board. So off to San Jose Forest Products.	The hatch construction was the final step, for now. The boards are attached to 1/2" exterior grade plywood. The two 2x4 joists are held in by joist hangers, but not screwed to the hanger. So, they can be removed when access to the crawlspace is needed. The right hand hatch will be put on hinges, and a latch countersunk. The left hand hatch will be removed after the right hand side is lifted up. There are ledger boards around the opening to support the hatch lids. Very sturdy - no problem walking on it!	The hatch in the closed stated. Still need to add the hinges and handle, but it was getting too cold! Next -- building the sunroom!