Home Improvement Today?

Perhaps. The nice thing about decks though is that they rot apart and need to be replaced in a decade again.

Fuck that, on that level grade, go for a stone, paver, or stamped concrete patio. Virtually zero maintenance, will outlast you. I will never do a deck unless the grade and structure make it otherwise impossible.

 

Ouch... 12x14 composite deck here would be roughly 10k, you must be dealing with Cali prices

 

Refinished the backside of the fireplace today

 

I like both versions

 

Same, but the wife likes the new one so that’s what we have.

 

I wanted to do stamped concrete (even replacing existing deck with it), but the SWMBO overruled. I'm learning to pick my battles and this isn't one I want to wage. There are water main and sewer main issues with that area anyways.

No composit. Heard enough bad things about it to want to steer clear. Redwood for the visible pieces, pressure treated for the other. I just put a spreadsheet together with costs, comparing different suppliers, and it averages out to about $1100 with taxes for materials. Fuck that, going to do it myself.

 

Never understood why someone would paint brick. It's a beautiful, low maintenance material. A neighbor built this gorgeous red brick house, then painted it white. A total WTF in my book.

 

I don't charge my close family but I charge everyone else $20/hour cash to do side work for them. It's not much for me, but it helps weed out the freebies. And if they balk at $20, go find someone to do it cheaper, and better.

 

I was just telling the guy at work this. Sanding should be minimum/null if done correctly. My process is 90 Durabond for the tape coat. Scrape down lines with a 6" taping knife. Durabond 45 for the first seam coat. Easy sand premix for next. And a thinned out easy sand premix for the subsequent (if needed) and final. Scrape lines and high spots with the taping knife after each coat. When a thin layer of bucket is used, it dries fast. Any thick application, avoid the bucket and mix it yourself. Add a drop or two of dish soap to help with the bubbles, especially at the end. Sand, as needed, to a nice smooth finish.

 

Suggest your girlfriend get comfortable with the chaos and do it yourself. That number is way out of line. That's a lot of money and the stuff doesn’t grow on trees.

 

That's probably the difference. When you do something for the house, and it's done correctly, it stays done. Computers will spontaneously screw themselves up. I tried charging but my free time was worth more to me that what anybody would be willing to pay.

 

Composite decking is literally garbage just making one more stop on it's way to the landfill .

After the massive failure I had with it , never again . In fact I try to talkclients out of decks all together if I can help it .

Latest job will have a deck though , but we're probably going to go with ipe decking .

 

What defines the original home?

 

That's fucking stupid anyway you slice it.

 

I used DuxxBak decking down here in LA, had to special order it, as no had used it in LA before. Two years on with a large dog playing on it all the time and zero issues. The deck is about 9’ off the ground.
His nails are not clipped either, I just walk him a lot. He would tear up the old deck and between him and the sun, I was working on the deck every other year and now no more. The other upside is that the decking has completely dried in the underneath, so now when you get out of the car and get through the gate, no more wet you from the rain...

 

For full transparency, my buddy had used composite decking about 8 years ago and it didnt even last 18 months, before we were over there pulling it up and replacing it. He got a couple of dollars back from a class action law suit.
Anyway, I was really nervous about using a composite product, but based on the issues we had with the traditional decking, so happy we changed. It was about 40% more and I did it myself since no one had used it before or worked with it down here. The factory was really helpful with the process and in answering any questions I had while installing it.

 

Footprint and percentage of original structure remaining

 

I'm not sure what all these "issues" are that everyone is having with composite decking... I've been installing it for customers for years with no issues.
The early stuff that had sawdust mixed in was junk thus the lawsuits but that was years ago. I use TimberTech products and love them.
While it is more expensive, it pays for itself when you don't have to stain it every 2-3 years or worry about rot.

 

@OZ-T was that the problem with your experience?

 

The material we used was GAF / Elk Crosstimber . It expanded more than it contracted with every cycle it went through , so over time the boards actually grew in length by almost 1/2". That action was compounded over the width and length of the deck to the point that the decking acted like a hydraulic jack and actually seperated the deck framing from the building , pulling joists out of joist hangers and seperating a carrying beam splice by approx 1" .

There are pictures in my gallery of the repair we had to do there that involved removal of all the decking , re-seating all the framing and re-decking it in cedar