new deck antics...

so tomorrow im starting a new free standing deck on my back yard.
off to a rough start, I borrowed a trailer to go pick up the lumber, turns out the trailer is 10 feet and the boards I got are 16 feet, well we got them on the trailer anyway and that went okay, was only able to fit half of the lumber and half of the deck block feet in the truck / trailer due to weight.
got out of the parking lot and heard a huge crash I pull over and the lumber has snapped the tailgate beam they were laying on so now instead of laying at an inclined angle they are laying straight out the back. I secured the boards as well as I could and continued my journey at about 45 mph down the highway luckily it is only about a 15 minute drive at normal highway speeds so it didn't take too long.
got home okay without any more mishap, but now I have to repair the trailer and do it again to get the second half of the load tomorrow......

 

How much was delivery going to cost ?

 

Check out Deck Restore, its like bed liner for decks. Sweet stuff and almost maintenance free unlike stains and sealants.

Post pics! My job makes me love threads like this.

 

delivery would have been only $65 but their delivery truck was in the shop and would be out for a week than they would have to catch up on backed up deliveries so I wouldn't see my stuff for 1-2 weeks and I only live 15 minutes away so I figured why not do it myself.

 

Oh , well in that case , can't give you any grief

What are your deck construction plans ?

 

nothing crazy it is a 14 x 16 deck and I will be setting it on dek block footings instead of pouring permanent footings, the septic tank is really close and I don't want to dig anywhere near it. right now im not doing any railings I haven't decided what to do yet, I just need the deck in because the lawn is a low property and gets saturated every time it rains it takes days to dry up so we never use our patio set or grill since its always wet back there.

 

Cool

 

It might sink a little on blocks in that wet yard. You should have called rings end, i think they deliver everywhere in the state and its free for orders over $500

 

we just had a bit of rain today so im kinda hoping setting them on the wet ground will help with that. they will hopefully sink now so I can level it from there.

 

update,
got all of the supplies home safe on Saturday, today I built, leveled, and squared the frame and secured all of the top deck boards just on the ends so they are in place, still have to secure the middles and cut the excess that is hanging over the end. after that I have to make a few simple box stairs.
I did however just about an hour ago realize a potential huge issue. when I got the plans I had them set for using 2x6 for the deck surface, after going to get the supplies I ended up getting 5/4" decking instead. I found out way after completing all of the work that 5/4 decking is supposed to have 3 more support beams under it so they will all be spaced closer together.
how much of a problem am I going to run into with this. I really do not want to take essentially the whole deck back apart.....

 

Whats your spacing for the joists?

 

2' 4" on center... the other plans for 5/4" say to use 1' 3" spacing. that's a big difference.
me and my wife have both walked on it with no issues but the centers aren't screwed down yet so right now there is a ton of flex

 

Your joists are 28" on centre ?

 

yes...

 

Is the decking pressure treated douglas fir?
Where did you get these plans? Im suprised someone would recomend that. I would add another joist in every bay, you would end up with 14" OC, you probably should have went with 16" OC in the first place

 

That's no good

 

this whole thing is built using dek block support pillars, so if I added more support beams I would have to add 4 more blocks to each new beam, that could seriously increase my deck price which I budgeted for exactly.
not sure what type of wood it is exactly, but it is pressure treated 2x6
I got the plans from deckplans.com the website is specifically for building with the dek blocks

 

http://www.deckplans.com/plans/RCL14W16.pdf
these are the plans I used. the small squares everywhere are concrete blocks

 

Unfortunately there is a huge difference between using 2x6 vs. 5/4 decking when it comes to support span. You will either have to return the 5/4 deck boards or adjust (redo) your supports, joists etc.
Sorry, i know it is not good news, but I don't see it working any other way.

 

I wish you posted on TW before deciding on the plans on the deck. I would have gave you a TW discount lol. No offense but i dont like that system, especially on wet ground. With all the time it takes to set those blocks level you could have dug a few footings, built it to code and it would last a looonngg time if maintained properly. I almost guarantee you that you will have issues with it moving/sinking especially if you leave the spacing as it is.