Nate and I went up to the cabin aka Camp Taint to build a deck last weekend. I had a rough plan in mind, I drew it with Google Sketchup. I suck at drawing and find it’s much easier for me to transfer my thoughts to a usable plan in 3d with Sketchup. It’s also great for getting an exact materials list. I draw the framing members at the correct size and spacing, every part is to scale and it’s great way to discuss the plan with others.
porch and deck plan
We wanted to incorporate some log posts from our property for the porch roof supports and Nate came up with the idea of using the logs to support a section of the front of the deck. We had built one free standing log structure before this using rebar and pier blocks, we learned a few things from it.
Video Below – View blog post to watch deck building video!
We had cut down 12 trees the year before but our property is so sloped that getting them out is hard. And it didn’t help we forgot a rope… Well we went down to the little town 7 miles away and bought the only rope they had, lead line for a crab pot… Let’s give it a try pulling the logs out with the truck. If you have ever handled green wood you know it’s HEAVY. These 9″ 14′ long logs weighed about 200 lbs each. Anyway they pulled out fine and I peeled them with my vintage draw knife I got off ebay.
draw knife
The plan was too just frame the deck but we got so much done and were going back to the lumber store to get one more board anyway so we decided to buy the decking too. Earlier I had planned on using my dads’ old cedar decking but it hadn’t been taken off yet and it would have meant 120 extra miles of hauling alot of wood. We worked until midnight on Saturday and got it done. It turned out great and it very strong, no wobbles at all.
