The deck is officially done. Sound the celebratory cowbells! I actually finished it on Friday and we’ve spent the last few days crossing all appendages and waiting for an inspection (I couldn’t bear to share my triumph until I was actually sure it was a to-code triumph). The inspection finally happened yesterday afternoon, and – ta-da! – we passed. Relief flooded over me like all the sweat that I put into building this thing (lesson learned: build decks in the spring or fall). Here she is in all of her wood-riddled, approved-by-the-county glory:
It’s definitely an upgrade from the tiny rotting balcony that we started with:
We thought it’d be great to have it done when Sherry’s mom came to visit from NY today, so I put my head down, powered ahead, and sweated through my belt for one last leg of this deck building marathon.
Admittedly it was a bit more of a marathon than I expected. We originally thought this deck would take us three or four weeks of on and off work to complete, but between the heat, thunderstorms, inspections, equipment rentals, material deliveries, summer travel (we ended up being gone more than half of the weekends since starting) and generally being a one-man show who has never built a deck before… it took ten weeks instead. But that doesn’t make the victory any less sweet to me.
I actually kind of enjoyed having an excuse to go outside (despite the extreme weather) and tinker around with something during the occasional Clara nap or Saturday morning. It was weirdly peaceful – getting to ignore emails and diapers for a few hours and just saw stuff. And of course having my dad’s help with the auger when it came to digging those post holes was the best. Nothing like a father/son project to get the serotonin pumping.
So if you’re wondering how long a deck project could take, I think an experienced team could knock something like this out in a week (you’d need a few days to pause for inspections in our area, so a weekend wouldn’t do it). But if you’re doing it almost entirely alone as a first-timer, and can’t work all day every day (maybe you can devote a few afternoons or evenings during the week and a day or two every other weekend like I did) it might realistically take you a month or two – depending how inspections go, if it’s raining for two weeks straight, etc. But I can promise you one thing: there’s an insane amount of satisfaction when you sink that last screw.
Now let’s rewind for a moment and I’ll try to breeze through how I got the stairs and the railing done. Once all of the decking was laid down, I cut and attached the remainder of my four posts (you can read more on how I did that in this post).
Even though the stairs were next on my list, getting the railing posts up was important to help me plan the stair stringers – which are the diagonal boards that run down the side of the staircase, where the steps actually rest.
You can buy pre-cut stringers, but I tackled cutting my own (to save money and time since that’s the lumber they provided in our delivery). Figuring out the lengths and angles of everything was kinda scary until I found this website that did most of the math for you. Thank goodness for the world wide web.
Once I had my rise (the height of each step) and run (the width of each step) calculated, I learned a cool trick from this video for marking your 2 x 12″ board for cutting. I basically clamped a straight edge (in my case, a piece of scrap wood) to a framing square (the L-shaped ruler) so it intersected at my measured rise and run. Then I could hold the scrap wood flush against my board and the framing square would create a perfect guide for marking my cuts:
With the length of my board marked, I broke out my circular saw and carefully cut along the lines.
You’ll notice above that despite looking cut from above in that last picture, the triangular pieces weren’t falling away. That’s because the circular-shape of a circular saw doesn’t always allow you to reach those deep corners all the way through. So I went back with my reciprocating saw to finish the cuts all the way.
Once one stringer had been cut (and tested in place to make sure it fit) I used it as a guide to mark and cut two more 2 x 12 boards, since I’d need 3 total stringers for my 48″ wide steps.
So here are my three cut stringers in place. You’ll notice the one in the middle has a weird extra piece in its center. That’s because a not-so-conveniently located knot in the wood caused the tip of one step to break off. Rather than go buy (and re-cut another whole board) I just patched it by cutting and screwing a short piece of wood to patch it (making sure it would be to code first).
To attach the stringers to the deck I used these angled hangers that I snagged at Home Depot.
Oh yeah, and I was sure to check that the steps were level the whole way down. Don’t want wonky steps now, do we?
Speaking of wonky, I did install some blocking between the stringers. They weren’t perfectly level themselves, but they’ll be completely hidden, so that’s okay. The point was that by using equal sized scrap boards the blocks still served their purpose of keeping the steps an equal width the whole way down (we didn’t want the steps getting subtly narrower or wider on the way down).
Next came setting the posts that would support the staircase in the middle and the bottom (using the footing holes that I dug back when I started the deck). To attach these posts, I decided to use these anchors I found at Home Depot this time around.
I basically set them in some wet concrete (after carefully marking where they needed to go to line up with my steps – which admittedly was a somewhat maddening process). Then I let them dry.
Since my concrete needed 4 hours to cure, I filled some of that time by beginning to cut the wood for the steps. We wanted the steps to match the decking, so we used two 2 x 6″ boards for the base of each step (which included a small overhang) and a 2 x 8″ board for the back of each step.
Once my concrete was dry and my post anchors were solidly in place, I set my posts, checked that they were level, and nailed them into place. You can see this anchor was not 100% exact in its placement – but that’s part of the reason they’re open on one end. That wiggle room was a lifesaver.
So here are all of my posts set (but not cut to size yet) and a random assortment of step boards just loosely laid in place. Looks kinda like a staircase. Looks kinda like a hot mess too.
Oh yeah, and I bolted the posts to my stringers the same way I bolted the railings to the end of the deck.
Then came the task of screwing all of the step boards into place. This task took surprisingly long and a surprising amount of screws.
With all of the stair boards in place, I turned my attention to the guardrail. The first two parts of the guardrail were the 2 x 4″ rail boards that would span between the posts on the top and bottom. Our county requires no more than 4″ gap between the deck and the rail (it’s also known as a sweep space, so you can easily sweep debris off the deck). I saw someone use a 4 x 4″ post as a guide for this since it’s an easy way to keep the rail level so I did the same thing. Worked like a charm.
Attaching the railings to the stairs was a bit more involved since I had to make sure I was meeting several standards for how much of a gap was at the bottom and how high it had to be compared to the nose of each tread. Once I had figured all of that out, just cutting the angles and keeping things in place while I screwed it all together made my brain hurt a little. But eventually I got all of the railing pieces in place.
Oh, and you may notice that the four posts attached to the deck got significantly taller. I had to replace my original posts because I realized too late that I had cut them too short to satisfy the railing height requirements on the steps. It’s a long story so I’ll just leave it this: it kinda sucked and that’s why it’s nighttime when this photo was taken. Oh well live and learn. They weren’t going to be staying that tall, but after replacing them once I decided this next time that I’d cut them in place once I was certain my railing height would pass inspection – just to avoid any more surprise do-overs.
The next day I could finally start putting the balusters in. Those are the vertical pieces on a standard deck railing. We debated doing something more intricate or modern (like all horizontal rails or a built in planter) but opted for the traditional look because that’s what we have out on the patio side of the house (there’s a fence and a railing out there). Both that railing and this one are visible from the living room (out various sliding doors) so we wanted them to match. I’m also glad we went the traditional route because it was super easy to do (since I could use my post as a guide to meet the spacing requirements again).
The last part of the guardrail is the rail cap, which is the flat ledge on the top. It’s made from a 5/4 x 6″ decking board. Cutting those angles and notches around the posts was an adventure too, but I won’t bother you with the details. In short: I lived to tell the tale!
Oh yeah, and you can see now that I eventually cut all of my posts down to size when I was sure they all met code. Thank you reciprocating saw for that.
When it came to attaching the balusters to the stair railing, I didn’t even attempt to pre-cut them to size like I did on the other railing. Instead I temporarily removed the rail cap I had cut and screwed the balusters into place with the excess length extending out the top. Then I used my reciprocating saw to cut them down so the rail cap would sit flush again on top of them for a finished edge.
With the balusters in and rail cap back on, I started putting the finishing touches into place – like this handrail that we’re required to add since our stairs have more than three steps.
And we added these decorative wood caps ($8 at Home Depot) to the posts at the top and bottom of the stairs. They attached with just a little bit of caulk and definitely make things look nice and finished.
And with that, the railings – and therefore the steps – and therefore the entire deck itself… was finally done!
I have to admit, I’m still kind of impressed that I made this.
And what do you do when you’re proud of the deck you just built? Naturally, you text your mom.
Well, your mom and your bro-friend.
Although being totally built and county approved doesn’t mean it’s totally done. We still need to seal it (we’ll be tackling that as soon as we catch our breath and research the right product for the job) and of course we need to furnish it. As for the budget breakdown, once we seal it we’ll share the full rundown. Until then, you can find me sitting out on the deck, sans furniture, drinking a nice cold soda. Or telling Sherry that I’m not building another deck for at least ten years. Yes sireee, I’m glad to have this done. Although to anyone wondering, I still think demoing our first house’s bathroom and rebuilding that from the studs was the hardest project I’ve ever done. But the deck is hanging in there at second place. Anyone else finishing a deck or some other project that took longer than you expected but is still intensely satisfying to have checked off the ol’ list?
Psst- Want all the deck details? Here’s where we shared our vision for the space, removed the plantings and the old balcony, selected our materials and documented our first day of building. Then we dug our post holes, failed our first inspection, revised our plan/dug more holes, and set posts. Then we installed our joists, did some last minute prep for deck boards, started laying decking boards, whipped up a mood board and finished laying deck boards.
Tirsa says
Wonderful, wonderful job, John! The deck looks great. I love all the finishing details. A truly well earned feeling of accomplishment. With all you have done in both houses you should consider participating in the next season of HGTV’s All American Handyman. :)
Kudos on a job well done!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that show scares me. It’s like having an inspector around all the time!
-John
Gabbi says
Wowzers! What an accomplishment. It looks fantastic. You guys deserve to have a celebratory cocktail out there…furniture or no furniture! {Just don’t spill before the wood is sealed hehe.}
Samantha says
Just pre-ordered you’re book on amazon.ca can’t wait to see it!!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Samantha!
xo,
s
Jessica says
I just finished staining and decorating our deck yesterday! What a project staining it was! It’s a screened in porch, so I had to try to stain the rails and balusters (LOTS of them) without getting stain on the screens. I actually cut a piece of cardboard to slide in-between the deck and the screens. But then I had this issue with getting the back sides that faced out. It was totally tedious, there may have been some painting through screens and wiping with mineral spirits, but I did one side and then decided the other sides were done so neatly that they were fine the way they were. It took me two 6 hours days just to stain all of the vertical sides! The floor only took 30 minutes. And this isn’t including the time I spent scrubbing it with deck cleaner/brightener. (I couldn’t powerwash because of the screens). I couldn’t settle on a color, so I used Cabot Wood Tone in “Natural.” It darkened the wood and brought out its natural color. Cabot was very easy to work with, just so you know. (I don’t work for them.) So, my deck looks awesome. I refinished a pedestal table as well in BM Squish Squash (light yellow) for the center and now its a completely new space than before! I didn’t have to build my deck (it was here when we bought the house), but you can rest easy knowing staining that bad boy is going to be WAY easier to stain than if it was screened in!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds like a huge job! Congrats Jessica!
xo,
s
Jessica says
Thank! And CONGRATS to you guys! If I were you, I’d be sprawled out on it rolling around in glee on the bare wood.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, don’t think we didn’t think about spending last night doing just that. Haha.
xo,
s
MissusPatriciaAnn says
in the buff? ;-) that’s what I’d do.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha it’s pretty private. It could work.
xo,
s
GreenInOC says
It’s beautiful John – you should be very proud!!
Elizabeth says
It looks incredible! I don’t know why, but looking at that deck in all its completed glory makes me feel a little emotional. It’s just so lovely, and so well made, and it took so much hard work, and…yeah. I don’t know. But GREAT JOB!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, that’s sweet Elizabeth!
-John
Ericka says
I am impressed! Way to go, John! I am really inspired by your stick-to-itiveness and your work ethic. The deck is gorgeous!
Kristin DeRamus says
Congrats on completing the project! We too just underwent a deck project ourselves, but instead of starting from scratch we just replaced the weathered surface boards. Now we need to give everything a light sand and then stain! Sounds like we’re in the same boat of trying to figure out what stain to get… I wish they had samples to test colors, but so far we’re leaning toward Sikkens Cetol Dek Finish. Seems a bit pricey, so I’ll be curious to see what you end up picking :) Here’s a helpful link my father-in-law sent: http://homeimprovement.lovetoknow.com/Best_Rated_Deck_Stain
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks! Off to check it out!
xo,
s
Annalea says
“Wow” is right! Way to go, John!
And the caps are more than decorative . . . you want to keep the end-grain from moisture as much as possible, because it drinks up rain like nobody’s bizness . . . and then all your hard work rots in a couple years.
Can’t wait to see the stained finished product. What about a whitewashed/pickled look? I love white-but-you-can-still-see-the-grain finishes . . .
YoungHouseLove says
Always another possibility! We have other fences and railings around the patio that are natural tone, so we keep going back to the idea of keeping everything cohesive. Not 100% sure yet though!
xo,
s
Ola says
Owww fantastic! Well well done :) So professional.
susan says
Looks great!
If you are like us, we are happy for like ten minutes, cross it off THE LIST, and then start planning our next back-breaking-why-are-we-doing-this-ourselves project.
Next up for us-we have an old well in the front yard. A nice big rectangular pit with a pump and whatnot in the bottom
( it’s OK no children live here, lol). We are turning that into a pond-woohoo! It will be great when we are finished, but in-between-UGH.
Will be fun to see what you do decor wise out there-enjoy your new space!
jodi says
looks great! way to go john!!
Cara D says
Deck looks great!
I preordered your book and ana white’s. So excited! I am asking for a compound miter saw for my birthday. Do you think it is worth it to go with the 12″ one or will a 10″ work for most small projects? I only have a jig saw and hand held saw right now.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the pre-order and the heads up about Ana’s being available. Just ordered it ourselves! As for the saw, I’ve got a 10″ and it does most jobs but it won’t cut through some of the wider boards and I have to the board over and do my best to line up the cut. So you’ll probably be fine either way, but if you can swing the 12″ it might saw you some trouble for certain projects.
-JOhn
Katie says
It looks amazing! Well done!
Chantel says
Congats! It looks great. :)
Ami says
John that look AMAZING! Great job! Really. You have every right to be super proud (and tired I’m sure). I can’t wait to see it stained and then furnished!
Jessibee says
OMG. Seriously impressive. Totally in awe. Sweating through your belt still hilarious.
Paola says
Awesome Work, pictures speak for your hard work!!!
Elisa says
Looks amazing! Soo impressed. Now, can you post about how to cut a straight line with a circular saw? My husband and I could use a lesson. Hah. Baby steps.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, my only secret is to use the laser sight and just go slowly. If your hand is not as steady as you’d like, you can clamp a board as a guide to press the saw against. Hope it helps!
-John
Kate K says
To quote Wayne’s World, we’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!
Great job John!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, you’re making me blush.
-John
suzanne says
kudos Man – that looks awesome.
Barb says
You the MAN, John! Beautiful work, and I’m sure you two will be tackling the finishing touches together.
Amanda says
You should be proud! I had no idea what a HUGE job building a deck was, thanks for the reality check! ^_^
Candy from Candied Fabrics says
Hooray! It looks great! A lot of hard work, but it was totally worth it, no? :-) I’ll bet Clara remembers this process and talks about it years from now!
YoungHouseLove says
Totally worth it! Would I do it again ten times? Probably not. But well worth it for sure.
-John
LARY@ Inspiration Nook says
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
heather says
Congratulations!! This is a huge undertaking and you should be very proud. Just reading about this one has made me exhausted so hopefully you guys all get a good family celebration once all is done.
Anne Gore says
AMAZING! I am so impressed. John, you should be proud, and definitely deserve some time relaxing on the deck with your favorite cold drink before jumping into staining and sealing. Sherry, you’re a lucky lady to have this guy as your devoted husband! Love you guys and can’t wait to see this latest addition ALL DECKED OUT with stain, seal, furniture, and plants! :)
Chelsea says
YAYAYAY!! It looks great!! Totally worth all the hard work. You guys are rockstars.
Ando says
I’m impressed! Now…if I could only do this myself!
Joanna says
Wow, that is gorgeous! You should be so proud. Also, count me in as someone who can’t wait for the upcoming decorating and accessorizing post :)
Ginny @ goofymonkeys says
Great job! I will have to show this to my husband – he’s got some anxiety about stringers. You make it look easy!
As for projects… I’m pretty sure that every project has taken longer than expected! That’s sort of how it goes here.
Anna S. says
Whoot! Whoot! You SHOULD be proud; that was quite the undertaking alone! Looks great, congrats!
Cecily says
Woo hoo! Looks great! Most impressive use of an awkward space. I agree that spring and fall are better for deck building – my husband and I built ours in the summer because we decided we needed an outdoor space to host our son’s 3rd birthday party at the end of June. It’s done – but never again!
Looking forward to the decor part. can’t wait to see what you guys come up with. And stain or seal? I’d go with the seal. Stain makes it look less like wood and the colors are never natural – even with names like cedar, oak, etc. We went with Thompson’s Waterseal in clear and love that it sealed and protects the wood, repels water, and doesn’t make the wood look artificially colored.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip Cecily!
xo,
s
Jennifer says
I’m super impressed – that is no small undertaking! And it’s beautiful to boot.
Amy says
Congratulations! The deck is an amazing accomplishment!
Sarah S. says
John! You totally rock! That looks amazing. You should probably treat yourself to a new soda-themed t-shirt or something. I can’t imagine the ‘it’s finally done’ feeling you must have. Congrats! I know your family will enjoy it for years and I’m really looking forward to seeing it all decorated. Way to go!
Ana Silva says
I looks wonderful! I am at almost a year with my bathroom remodel. When you are full time Army and doing it all by yourself…yeah it takes long! I am almost finished and I am so excited. I know the feeling John. You did an amazing job. I built a deck once; but you are right, the full bathroom remodel from studs has really been the worst!
Jenny says
So awesome! So impressed. Great job!!
Shannon says
WOOOO TO THE HOOOOOOOO!!! That looks awesome! And you get to look outside everyday with a little smile and think, “I MADE THAT!” Way to go.
Christine says
Congratulations! It looks amazing. Am planning to build a deck next year and have to admit, that I’m slightly worried about the amount of work and time it will take. It’s good to know, that I’m not the only one who’s projects take longer than expected though!
KBD says
So during your initial planning/building stages, I thought this would be a job that I would tackle but as time went on and certainly after reading this post – I have a headache just trying to decipher exactly how you did what you did!
With all that being said, you should be extremely proud of yourself. You did an AWESOME job and what an amazing thing it will be to chill out with your family/friends on the deck that YOU built!
Bravo!! Now, I am off to find someone to do my deck for me :-)
John says
Amazing! How about signing it and adding the finish date just like a building. You could add those copper caps or solar powered caps on the posts.
YoungHouseLove says
Fun!
xo,
s
Adeline says
It’s beautiful. Well done!
Nicole @ Post Grad says
Yay!!! Congratulations. It looks fantastic!! You should be very proud of all your hard work. Are you planning on staining it as well as sealing it? And love the tip about the scrap wood and your straight edge – I’m definitely using that trick for future projects!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re not sure about stain just because the other wood fences and railings by the patio are natural wood and we hear the maintenance is less without stain in the mix. Will keep you posted!
xo,
s
Diane says
Amazing!
Sherry must wear the shirt with the birds for the decorating reveal!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, nice!
xo,
s
Ashleigh says
“Intimidating” does not begin to describe a project like this. Way to go, John! It looks amazing!
Megan says
The stairs look awesome. You should be so proud! A total non-descript alcove is now a destination. Well done :)
Jen says
Love it!
Kelly says
Congratulations! It looks amazing. I think a deck is out of my league as far as DIY, the most I’ve tackled wwere two (different) faux fireplaces for my apartments over the years.
I can’t wait to see it all sealed and decorated. Kudos once again!
Ofelia, México City says
Looks amazing, totally gorgeous! Congratulations! A hard job, no doubts, but totally worth it. Thanks for sharing!