If at first you don’t succeed… dig more holes. At least, that’s what was on my agenda after failing our first deck footing inspection (this post explains that debacle). This project definitely isn’t moving along at the speed of lightning, but we’re creeping slowly towards the goal of a finished deck to enjoy family meals on by the end of the summer – maybe even by this time next month if we’re lucky. But remember this speed bump?
Since our original plan got the big ix-nay because we were trying to attach ledger boards to unapproved surfaces (although it was initially approved by the county), our new plan required us to make it a free-standing deck… which required us to dig more holes. Seven new holes, to be exact, for a grand total of twelve footings (five of my previous holes were still good, while only one was pretty much useless).
Having already learned that digging holes was tough but not unbearable, I wasn’t too intimidated. Since digging six holes had left my dad and I drenched in sweat and pretty much limp-muscled, I did feel pretty bad making him suffer through seven – but I guess it’s better than having to do all twelve at once (even though it would’ve saved me $60 from renting the auger again from Home Depot). In other words: could have been way worse.
This time we borrowed both the 8″ and the 12″ auger bit, since our holes are supposed to be 12″ wide (and accidentally getting the 8″ bit last time required extra work of manually digging the holes wider). We hoped the 12″ bit wouldn’t be that much more difficult to maneuver and that it would make the work quicker. In fact, the task was shaping up to be pretty straight forward. Until this happened:
Upon digging my first “starter hole” by hand, my shovel hit something solid. I originally thought it was a root or a brick, but as I uncovered more dirt it turned out to be a giant, 6″ thick concrete slab (our guess is that it might have been the landing for a staircase that once existed here). It was too thick to bust up with the sledgehammer and nearly too heavy to even move, but after shimmying some boards underneath it my dad and I managed to shift it enough to the side so that we could dig our hole in the proper place.
The only downside was that the whole concrete-slab-moving process was exhausting. And we hadn’t even made a single hole yet. But we sucked it up, I donned my déjà vu hat, and we powered up the auger.
The 12″ auger bit definitely was heavier and a bit more challenging to maneuver, but not so much that we didn’t keep using it. Both us loved the fact that we automatically had our 12″ wide holes without any extra digging (or double-checking measurements). It certainly made for quicker work getting our 21″ deep holes (which are the requirement in our area).
Although I still used the hole digger to manually remove some of the loose dirt left by the auger. Oh yeah, and apparently I make faces like this to entertain the wife while she documents things. Always the charmer.
I lost track of time but it might have taken us 90 minutes to get all seven new holes dug (including moving the surprise concrete slab). So all in all, not bad at all. And we weren’t nearly as fatigued as last time. Sherry thinks it’s because it wasn’t as hot out. I think it’s because we’re just more muscle-y from the first round of digging.
With holes dug, we crossed our fingers, bit our lips, and probably peed our pants a little bit as we called to schedule the inspector to come back the next day. I hate not succeeding at stuff, so the thought of failing again made me lose a little bit of sleep. But I’ll spare you the suspense – this is what happened:
Woo to the hoo. The visit could not have gone better. It was a different inspector and he took a quick glance at my new plans, another glance at my holes, and said “looks good.” No measuring, no comment on my ledger boards, no nothing. Sherry was barely able to even sneak one picture the whole thing was so fast.
After he approved my holes, I did bother him with a few more questions. Most importantly, I confirmed with him that I could leave my ledger boards up to use as rim boards instead (they wouldn’t bear the weight of the deck- the posts would do that – but they’d be a nice place to attach things around the house for the perimeter stability that’s required on a freestanding deck). This was fantastic news because it meant not only was our work not in vain, but also that we wouldn’t have to waste time undoing it all (and re-siding the house where those ledger boards had been). I just have to be sure to counterflash them (i.e. put flashing over the top of the ledger) which is something I was planning to do anyways.
So with all of the excitement over having passed inspection, I did the natural thing and texted my mom.
So now I’ve gotta place my order for additional materials (more posts and girder boards) and then I can start actually building this darn thing. And let’s hope I get Inspector #2 when it’s time for my final inspection! In sharing-the-love news, we really appreciated you guys commiserating with us last week by spilling all of your failure stories. I promise, it helped more than you can imagine. So let’s try a more positive spin this week: what problems have you guys worked through lately (house-wise or otherwise)? Is there anything that seemed like a negative that did an 180 and turned out to work in your favor?
Psst- A huge thanks goes out to everyone who checked in on us after the crazy storm on Friday night! We were without power until Sunday afternoon (and we witnessed some pretty crazy tornado-like winds outside our window on Friday night), but thankfully our house was spared any damage and we’re so glad that our power has been restored. High fives to Dominion Power (and all the other power companies from out of state who drove up to lend a hand).
Starr @ The Kiefer Cottage says
Glad your house wasn’t damaged!
I had to pull out several squash plants this week due to a squash borer invasion, and that left me bummed. But now I have more room to plant carrots and other veggies for fall, so there’s a silver lining.
YoungHouseLove says
Mmmm, fall veggies sound awesome! Hope they all do really well and that silver lining is awesomely apparent soon!
xo,
s
Kelli says
Years ago there was a commercial for Stanley tools on television …the jingle, “Stan-ley…we want to help you do things RIGHT!” played over the top of scenes of a DIY couple completing numerous jobs to perfection…hmmm. No tears of frustration? This was always very amusing to us :) Looking back on 30 years of DIY projects on our “fixer- upper”‘ there are too many failures? glitches? to document! Thanks to you guys for providing continuous inspiration to young …and old…alike! LOVE your blog!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Kelli!
xo,
s
Janelle@domesticallyseasoned says
I am so glad he approved of your HOLES! lol SOrry but I laughed my arse off reading that. Project is full speed ahead.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha, yes, he likes our holes! He really, really likes them!
xo,
s
Wrenaria says
Woo to the hoo indeed. Congrats on passing inspection.
paula says
Yay for passing the inspection! 90 minutes, not too shabby. :)
I live in C’ville and those were some seriously crazy winds.
Glad you got power! Loads of out of state power company trucks here trying to restore power.
Jayme says
While I was reading this it made me think of our recent move and how if definitely cost hundreds more that I wasn’t expecting. How do you budget for unexpected expenses on big projects like this, like having to get more materials and rent the auger again? Is there a set amount that you hope not to have to spend but that’s there if you need it?
YoungHouseLove says
We usually go into projects with a big “cushion” of savings towards it since we have learned things can be more than we expect (ex: we saved up 2K for this project, even though we think it’ll probably only be around $1400 – just in case!). That way we don’t get half-way through something and have to stop since we ran out of funds. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Kelly says
I’ve lived in my new apt for 10 months now and I have yet to hang a single thing on the wall. Everything is just laying out ready for some sort of decision on my part. I have some things I want to print out and frame yet too, but I’m having a hard time figuring out “where” to put everything. I have so much open wall space, it’s a little daunting. I think that’s keeping me on the sidelines the most.
How do you and Sherry decide where something will go? I know you like to switch things up from time to time (and I’m not opposed to doing that either), but how do you make the initial decision?
Crap. I meant to post about hanging pictures here instead of on the post about digging the holes. Sorry!
I’m glad you passed inspection!!
YoungHouseLove says
No worries Kelly! We usually just lay things out on the floor if it’s a big arrangement or use paper templates (cut to the size of the frames and then taped up on the wall) to figure out what we might like. Then we just go for it! At a certain point it’s really helpful to just get something up and see how you like it! Good luck!
xo,
s
Erinn C says
Great job! On another note, I recall last year when you lost power for days from the hurricane that you were able to file a food spoilage claim with the electric company. How did you do that – directly through Dominion? Up here in our neighborhood we are still without power and tons of food spoiling away in the fridge…
YoungHouseLove says
We actually tried to file it (it initially was accepted but later was denied in writing) so it sadly never actually went through! Might be worth a try though. We just called them and asked to file it and I think we did it over the phone.
xo,
s
Anne G. says
Hurray for Dads that help with deck projects! My neighbor has been working on his deck for 3 weeks, with help from his Dad. They’ve been replacing a full deck that had mostly rotted out. I’ve been stopping by every weekend to check on the progress and cheer them on. It seems like quality father/son bonding time that you will both look back on with fond memories.
Can’t wait to see the finished deck!!!!
keapdx says
Clara might be a little young, but for bedtime reading apropos of current project ….
http://www.amazon.com/Turtleback-Library-Binding-Edition-Yearling/dp/0613236696
“If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy.”
Looks like you all must be very good boys by now :)
Be careful out there with falling limbs and all… Hope the heat/humidity is bearable.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- off to check out that book!
xo,
s
lauren says
Don’t high five dominion just yet! They still have a lot of work to do in Cville- we’re still out of power in many outlying counties… STILL.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, they’re still working on a lot of areas! We’ve just heard that power trucks are traveling from far and wide to work on things (at night, on the weekend, etc) to hopefully get everyone up and running as soon as possible! Hope you’re back up soon!
xo,
s
mp says
I’m so glad y’all are okay! I saw several power trucks from out of state drive by yesterday and felt grateful for reciprocal agreements.
I haven’t had anything happen lately that would fall into the negative-to-positive category, but have had a lot of them throughout my life. They give me the strength to keep going in tough times.
Lisa in Seattle says
John, you should frame that little bit of the paper with the check mark and hang it on your gallery wall! Congratulations!
Our recent “problem” was more of an expen$ive annoyance. What started out to be a $99, three-hour job to fix some issues in our skylight bays turned out to be a $3,000, five-day job involving popcorn removal, re-mudding, re-texturing, painting, etc., etc., etc. I kept humming the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song all week. But the contractors are gone and it looks pretty good. Thanks for nothing, prior DIY-impaired homeowners.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, I can totally relate to things snowballing. Hope it looks awesome for years to come!
-John
Joanna says
Mazel tov! Looks great. Your dad is a keeper. We would love to build a deck someday! Thanks for the inspiration. So glad to hear the storm didn’t destroy anything. My sister lives in DC and her boss’s house got literally cut in half by a tree smashing right through it. (Thank God everyone was ok.)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh- so glad he’s ok! What a scary storm!
xo,
s
Amanda says
I love that your Dad is helping you build a deck and your Mom can text. What awesome parents you have!
YoungHouseLove says
I know, right? I keep trying to teach my mom how to text. So far, no dice!
xo,
s
Kasey M. says
Sherry the key is to send your Mom text messages from Clara. Gran needs a little mottivation!
YoungHouseLove says
I know, right?!
xo,
s
Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats says
Yayyy!!! I’m so happy for you all! Congratulation and I can’t wait to see the building process! Also, I’m so happy you guys are okay from the storm- it’s been ridiculous. I live in Arlington in Northern VA and I still don’t have power. Dominion hasn’t been so good to me!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no, I hope you get it soon! They’re working away! We see convoys of trucks headed north every time we’re on the highway!
xo,
s
Me, Ed and Pea says
Congrats!!! Also, best John pic ever.
Amanda says
We’ve been working on our master bathroom for a couple of weeks – the demo is finally done, and we’re in the rebuilding phase. Minor snafu when I realized the tub we got was 2″ wider than the one we had…which meant we had to move all of the rough ins. Thank goodness my parents came down to help this weekend! I’ll be posting about that shebang hopefully tonight :-) Until then, you can read what we’ve already done, and where we want to go with the reno (we’re using the tile from your backsplash on the floor)
YoungHouseLove says
Can’t wait to see your post tonight! So glad everyone was able to come down and help! And you’re going to love that tile so much! It’s one of our favorite things!
xo,
s
Kari says
Hilarious that John dressed up again for the inspection!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s how he rolls!
xo,
s
Dave Coates says
107 comments already? ouch!
Anyway, woohooo! Well done!
Shannon says
Hmm, a 180? Our airconditioner is dying a slow death on 100 degree weather, so we gout a new furnace, AC, thermostat, and humidifier. So, while we are sweating bullets in the house, we get to spend a lot of money to cool off next weekend after the installation, just in time for the weather to cool down.
Hmm, maybe it’s more of a 90?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, isn’t that the breaks? We can totally relate to that. Hope the new system is amazing and ends up being the best thing ever!
xo,
s
Gabriella @ Our Life In Action says
Just re-reading your post (yes I am that much of a nerd) and couldn’t help but chuckle at the “Because nothing is ever easy” line; seems like I utter that at least once a day.
P.S. – Glad you guys are okay and didn’t get any damage from those storms.
Naomi says
That looked intense!
-Naomi {Starry Eyes + Coffee Cups}
Sherry from BC says
So glad you passed your second inspection. Looks like you have been really working hard. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. I didn’t know about the big storm your way until it was over. I am so glad you are safe and sound.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Sherry! We are too!
xo,
s
Heather Flint says
Yay!! So happy for you guys passing inspection. That’s so neat that you text your mom to share the good news!! :)
-Heather
Teri says
This weekend we installed a ceiling fan in our master bedroom. My hubs is a big fraidy cat when it comes to electricity, so he usually calls his grandpa to come help. I told him we can do it, so he took the plunge with the caviot that he could I told you so when we called his grandpa.
Once we started, we his a major snag in that the builder of our house did not leave any room in the junction box for tucking the wires when done. So we had to try to smoosh all the wiring inside the canopy. It was a tight squeeze. After a couple of trips up the ladder by each of us, we found the right configuration to fit everything safely. After about 1 hour or install time (with about 30 minutes manipulating the wires) we had ceiling fan success!! It feels so good to have a nice cool room in which you can look up and say “I did that!” without any I told you so’s!
Matt says
If you get both the 8″ and 12″ bits next time (right), you can drill a pilot hole with the 8″ and chase it with the 12″. That should make things a bit easier on your arms.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Matt! They had both bits this time but didn’t want to bother with switching them out each time – but it’s a great tip for anyone who has time to swap them out for each hole!
xo,
s
Matt says
Not sure how to reply to your reply, but you’d only have to switch once! Drill all the holes with the 8″, switch to the 12″ and chase all of them with that bit.
YoungHouseLove says
That is a good thought, Matt! If that 12″ had been significantly harder than I probably would go that route but it actually wasn’t all that bad = mainly just a bit heavier to lift into place, but once it got going it was about the same. But definitely a good thing to keep in mind if there is a future project that requires this again.
-John
Nevin says
Glad it is all working out now! May the rest of this project sail on smoothly!
Speaking of projects doing a 180, my husband and I replaced a shelf around a corner in my son’s room for it was coming off the wall. We have learned a lot in the past 12 years, so we removed it and boy, did it go better this time. Of course the walls are not straight so it posed a problem on going around the corner – it’s an external corner. With some logic applied, we got the 2 45 degree cuts to match perfectly this time! Good bye warped shelf, hello straight and well supported new shelf!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome! Congrats!
xo,
s
Tirsa says
Way to go on passing inspection! I’m sure the deck will be super when John and his dad are done with it.
I actually just came to your site today to check and see how you guys were doing after the storm. We are in Howard County and it was unbeliably scary in my area -(scarier than the level 3 hurricane I lived through while in the Caribbean) many of our neighbors’ trees are down and we’ll be without power until probably Friday. Still, we’re grateful to be alive and well. Soooo glad you guys were unharmed and got your power back so quickly.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh Tirsa! I’m so sorry that it’s so bad by you! So glad you’re ok! Hope you get power back soon!
xo,
s
Stefanie says
Woot! Do you have ideas of how you will set up the outdoor dining situation once it’s done? I don’t remember seeing that in a recent deck post. Trying to visualize it, but it’s really hard to tell (and see in my head) how wide and long the deck space will be.
Very cool!
YoungHouseLove says
We’re hoping to have a long table with chairs on both sides in the middle of the deck nearer to the door and then the BBQ out on the end of the deck (and maybe some potted plants or a few lounge-y chairs since it’s so long! Will definitely have to see how it goes once we build it and start playing around with the space!
xo,
s
Tamsyn says
Oh yay, I’m so excited that you passed the inspection!! I love you guys for keeping it real xx
Liz A. says
Mine is a non-construction related event…i am getting ready for my first teaching gig and there is a lot of technology-related things that I am sure all my new students know how to do that I don’t, like posting things to an electronic blackboard and uploading things and downloading things and all such nonsense. For weeks I have been sweating this kind of stuff, which, in my opinion does not have anything to do with Social Work (the class topic), but my lead professor and administrator and all those students beg to differ. So, finally, I put my big girl plants on, drove to school and hunted down a nice guy in the tech support office who took way more time than he thought he was going to have to in order to get me ready for my class. I have found that there are things I am good at, and things I am not, and that I can always find someone for whom the not-good things do not cause them panic attacks. Those people are gold in my mind…
Good luck with the next projects, I love reading updates. I look forward to the book!!!
Liz
Kristin H. says
Maybe it’s just my iPhone being wacky but your background all day today for me is the tiled logo of the st Jude’s research hospital!!? So weird and funny. I literally can’t read any of the comments to see if anyone else is having this problem (the writing of the logo is tiled all over the page too!) and it’s the 3rd different wifi network I’ve tried to load you on so I just thought I’d let you guys know! Definitely could be my phone though, in which case ignore this comment. I have no idea how the internet works haha.
YoungHouseLove says
It’s a glitch that happens every so often on iPhone and iPads (it picks up a graphic from our sidebar and pretends it’s our background). It usually can be fixed by clearing your history in Safari, but sometimes it just takes a day or two to clear up on its own. So sorry for the trouble!
-John
Christine Witt (Brush Dance) says
Glad you’re making it through the storms ok. So many of my friends on that side of the country are without power.
I really thought that the deck would be an easier project than the kitchen – but now I’m thinking it’s not. Even though it’s not done yet – is the deck shaping up to be more overall work?
YoungHouseLove says
I think the kitchen was easier to chip away at (moving cabinets one day, tiling for a few days after that, installing the floors a little later, etc) but the deck seems more complicated, so it’s taking longer to get things done. The kitchen actually took four months (and around 7K) but we think we’ll get this done in about two-three months and it should only be around $1500 tops, so I think on paper it’s still the easier project – even though it doesn’t feel like that sometimes! Haha.
xo,
s
SherriMc says
I hope Dad gets a lovely meal on the deck for his work!..He seems like a great guy to help you out; handy too. My late father was a super-handy fella — plumbing, electrical, construction, machinery. You guys are blessed to have your folks! Keep up the good work. It’s gonna be great.
Annegirrl says
I didn’t share our almost failure for getting approval to put up a 6 foot wood privacy fence along the side of our back yard that also happened to border the road. The zoning guy said it could only be 4 foot, but we told him it had to be 6 foot. Our Saint Bernard and Rottweiler would easily scale a 4 foot fence. He wasn’t totally convinced so we gave him the addresses of the three other corner lots that had 6 foot fences on the side yard along the road. That won us our 6 foot privacy fence and a sigh of relief was had by us and all the people that walk by our house.
YoungHouseLove says
Yay – so glad you convinced him!
xo,
s
Beth says
Hey S&J! I recently started following your blog thanks to my sister-in-law. It has inspired me to tackle projects around the house that I wasn’t confident in before- my husband and I just patched drywall in our bathroom (and I really mean both of us, not just him with me supervising!) and this is our first time- any tips would be great. I’m hoping this is a project that was worth the work and the one million headaches. Best of luck with that deck and thanks for the inspiration!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Beth! I bet your drywall looks awesome!
xo,
s
how2home says
Yayyy! Congratulations Sherry & John! Lucky #7 right! To be quite honest with you….probably 90% of all the decks in Toronto has never been inspected….but koodos to you guys :) So excited to see more progress with your deck! Keep it up guys!
Erin C. says
I helped my mom dig some holes for her new deck, and we just used a fence pole digger shovel thing (technical term). It took forever, but my mom said the auger wouldn’t work in the rocky soil in her backyard. Did you hit any rocks and did it slow/halt progress at all?
YoungHouseLove says
Other than that concrete slab we didn’t hit many rocks (some very small ones but those were easy to dig out and set aside so the guys could keep on going).
xo,
s
Laura says
I’m building a deck too and have had footing and permit office woes too. Jealous of the auger b/c I did mine by hand. The woman at my permit office misled me so I ended up digging the holes 22 inches square instead of the required 18 inches square (they also had to be 24 inches deep). So although my footings passed inspection, it created a lot of extra work (both for digging and for mixing/pouring concrete).
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man, that sounds like so much work!
xo,
s
Lauren says
Glad you all got power back! My family is on day four of no power in Northern Virginia.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! So hard! Hope it comes on soon!
xo,
s
Peggy McKee says
Do you have plan for the furniture that will go on the deck? Will there be enough room for table & chairs? I ask because 8 feet is rather narrow–especially because 2-3 feet has to be kept open as a passage way to the stairs–and chairs need 2 feet in back of them in order to get in & out.
Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, we have mapped it out and we think it’ll work! Of course things could evolve as we go but you know we’ll keep you posted! We had a lot of 8′ wide rooms in our first house so we’re pretty good at squeezing the function out of small spaces- haha.
xo,
s
Sarah B says
YAY!! And CONGRATS!! My most recent somewhat (but not quite)failure involves my fridge. It was dying on me–rising to 50+ degrees, not nearly cool enough to do its job. I tried fixing it myself a couple times without success and then came to the conclusion that even if I bought new parts there’d be no guarantee that it would fix it for the long haul. So I bought new. The win? I got my new fridge for 10% off, plus free delivery and haul of my old one (an $80 or so value), and a $50 rebate from my power company because it is super efficient. THEN when it was delivered, the delivery guy noticed some dents and dings (it was the floor model and a discontinued model) and got me another $100 off! I just got it last night… I never thought I would be this excited about a fridge or being able to buy fresh food again!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so exciting! Congrats on the new fridge for such a score!
xo,
s
TIM says
Hi,John.
I ready to dig a few holes.
Great help to me.
Nice post about digging holes,thanks .
Lily says
I am so grateful to you both, we almost built a deck in our back yard however after looking at the extra steps we decided to copy another one of your ideas with pavers.
I want to copy some of your photos and link it to your blog, I hope that is alright!
Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Lily! You’re so sweet!
xo
s