got a start on the back porch job.
worked in the flashing on Mon … and hung the ledgers.
framed the rest on Tues. Not being a real framer … made for a long day …
but got everything and more than hoped done.
palm nailed the snot outta the joist hangers today … among other things .. like laying out the stairs for cutting first thing Mon …
Off to Philly tomorrow … have the post hole digging kids stopping by Thurs/Fri.
Hope to come home on Monday to a bunch of holes ready for inspection.
Customer hated me last week … I was off with my silly sore hand … she loves me this week … looked out her back door on Tues and saw an “instant porch”!
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Edited 7/14/2005 1:09 am ET by JEFF J. BUCK
Replies
Looks good. I still can't believe you don't dig your own post holes. I bet your tool belt is velvet lined. LOL
We are all in this together.
http://www.hay98.com/
I may be digging on Monday ...
one kid can't make it ...
the other was supposed to starting on a job at 8am .. I was to meet him there at 10 to give him the garage key ...
he showed up at 11 ... right after he woke up and showered!
I'm not expecting to see any holes ....
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
don't listen to Gunner. I think its a smart move to pay someone else to dig holes.
I just finished a deck that needed 9 piers dug. The HO said she had someone who would dig 'em, and would I mind if I didn't have to dig. I told her that was fine with me, especially since I knew that it was going to be tough digging.
Well, it took 2 ( fairly young )guys 11 hours to dig the holes. There was a lot of rocks and clay. It probably would have killed me.
Nope, got no problem with someone else digging.
When I need post holes dug, I don't dig, I drill. A landscaping contractor I know has a power auger for his tractor. Hook it up, position it, and drill away. Snap a few shear pins due to the many rocks, but all in all, the best way to sink some posts.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
I've done that in the past, but this area was so tight that a machine couldn't get in there, and the 1 or 2 man drills would have gotten someone killed.
Still easier to have someone else dig the holes. Next I gotta find someone mix and pour the concrete <g>
I think I'm gettin' lazy in my old age. Or is it smart?
So did you pay them by the hour, or the hole? I would think paying by the hole would give more motivation to getting it done asap.
I never met a tool I didn't like!
actually the HO dealt entirely with the hole diggers. One of them had done quite a bit of work for them- odds and ends kind of stuff.
Normally I wouldn't rely on someone else being responsible for a part of one of my jobs, but I've done quite a bit of work for these people. They're the type who'll call and say "Bob, we want to do this. How much do you want to do it?" No competive bidding, no haggling.
So I'm a little more flexible with them.
FWIW you can get power augers on the compact loaders.And you can get a compact loader into very small spaces.
there was only about 4' between the garage and a stone retaining wall. Would a loader fit thru there?
I've used the power auger on a loader before- just didn't have to deal with the digging part on this job.
Most likely.Here are a couplehttp://www.toro.com/professional/sws/loader/400/22308.htmlhttp://www.finncorp.com/loaders/eagle244d.htmhttp://www.finncorp.com/loaders/eagle204d.htm
thanks for the links- those machines look pretty cool
but I don't dig enough holes to justify any one of them
You rent them.
Hey, Jeff. How ya doin? That's a nice looking old house.
Are you going to cap the deck structural with the Grace stuff? I think I would.Gene Davis, Davis Housewrights, Inc., Lake Placid, NY
Why is it that no one gets excited about digging a hole?
We are all in this together.
http://www.hay98.com/
Why is it that no one gets excited about digging a hole?
I get excited if someone else is going to dig it. No auger rental. No wrestling with that thing.
And don't even MENTION those old fashioned post hole diggers (clamshell type). jt8
In an underdeveloped country don't drink the water. In a developed country don't breathe the air --Jonathan Raban
Check that corner post with your "finish" level the next time you're out there Jeff. Looks to be a smidge off plumb. Could just be the photo.
If we fail to catch a cosmic fish it may be a trillion years before the opportunity comes again
Looks like a fun little job Jeff.
Looks great.
blue
Porch framing looks solid. Nice work.
I finished digging 42 three-foot holes for fence posts. Have two more to go.
Too many rocks. Sore shoulders.
Two good reasons why I should have hired it out.
my favorite word!.. Sale!!
http://www.finncorp.com/clearance/clearance.htm
Oh, the temptation...<g>
...but I suppose I can somewhat justify my continued use of the old clamshell posthole digger by the following:
1) I've not had the greatest of luck using a powered auger in my rocky soil. I've used both a 3-point on a tractor and a smaller gas powered auger. Between the auger skipping until it gets purchase and the pulling of stones off the sides of the hole, the hole usually ends up too big.
2) If I didn't get this exercise I'd simply be too darn fat.
3) It gives me something to whine about.
I used to know a fence installer- he wouldn't use a power auger because ( he said )they were too slow. He preferred the clamshell digger.
But ya gotta realize, this guy was about 6' tall, and just about as wide- all muscle.
And he could hit a golf ball further than any one else I've seen.
it's slightly "over-engineered" ...
the first plan ... porch the whole way across the back of the house ....
making for that "little" area ... the "walkway" past that bump out ... then the "big" porch in front of the DR windows. The whole point was the "big porch" ... so she could set out lotsa furniture and eat out there.
Then ... she saw the price.
So .... "left half" was the new plan.
I had designed it all based on the "right half" .... the bigger porch and bigger spans ... and ... the harder roof to fit onto the existing house with different window sizes than original ...
The "right side" pretty much dictated the whole layout .... porch deck and roof lines ...
She had mentioned doing "half" this summer ... and maybe tying it all together and doing the "other half" next summer ...
So ... instead of redrawing and sizing everything ... I just cut off the right side and figured out an easy way to chop the roof .... but still following the same lines ...
so "if and when" .... it'll be a simple roof overlay ... and the porch framing will match right up to the now existing.
Told her I coulda saved her maybe $500 ... BUT ... if and when ... it's cost more to get it all to look/fit seamless. I'll bet the other side does get done sooner or later ... as this side is a 2 story deal .... the covered sitting porch on the "second floor" is now just an open balcony ... but again ... designed that a coupla nice posts and a simple roof can be added on at any time.
It's gonna look "tall and thin" till she springs for the "other side" to balance it out.
Hey ... Mongo ... while I got ya on the line ...
Cath just asked me .... U gonna Cal-Fest it?
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
AS of now a Thurs/Fri is in the works.
It's a long way to go for such a short time, though.
Trying to stretch and bend the timeline.
We'll see.
Gonna try the baseball game Thurs.
Tell Cath I said Hi. If I come does that mean she's staying home?<g>
Mongo
Man, a guy has to really peruse these threads to keep abreast of what's happening.
I have a ticket for you to the game.
Will pencil you in for the canal boat ride if you like.
Keep me informed.
Draganics poker youth won't arrive till Sat. morning.
You like fish?
Send me your mailing address so I can get you a map to the joint.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Edited 7/19/2005 8:17 am ET by calvin
Days are still up in the air.
email to you on the way.
I like fish.
Pete's kids still owe me money from last year. I'll bring a tire iron.
anxiously awaiting your emailarrival.
don't fergit, rockin dave and the skyy dogs.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Tunes and baseball. Add peanuts and a beer and I'll be a happy man.
Been taking in a few minor league games this year. Three different teams in CT, as well as in Dayton, Greensboro, Lexington, Buffalo, and a couple other cities.
Got to add a Mud Hens baseball hat to the collection.
Currently Leaugue Leaders in their division.
Gonna be good to see you again. Let me know arrival/departure so I know how many hot dogs to order.
And don't forget the shoes.Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
How many 23-gauge pins does it take to frame a deck? ; - )
-Jazzdogg-
"Don't ask youself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." Gil Bailie
have you contemplated the design of the stair system? it might look neat to replicate the shape of the bay window for your stair landing (on deck level, or at mid-point/elevation)
is this going to be a fully enclosed porch / partial?
what type of decking boards? would love to see further pictures! nice clean work by the way! Did you plane the tops of those framing joists?(they look perfect)
Edited 7/20/2005 11:00 am ET by chipper
fully enclosed porch.
real t and g porch flooring ... real t and g beaded ceiling.
the stairs .. after long debate ... are gonna run from in front of the bump out ... down to the left. The stairs and landing will be uncovered and regular decking boards. The roof "on top" of the bumpout is to be a reverse gable ...
the roof about the second floor door was to match existing dormers ... but that "cover" got ax'd in the budget .... so now it'll just be an open balcony up there.
Got the last of the holes dug today.
I'll have to take a pic of the "dirt" .... from about an inch below the surface ... down to China .... there are rocks ... tumbled down to this rivers edge from the last glacier ...
they start about the size of a baking potato ... and move up in size ... to the size and shape of Gunners head! Nothing like a 10 inch rock blocking yer 8 inch hole!
To say post holes in Beaver PA end up "oversized" ... is an understatement. I started with shovels/post hole digger/digging bar .... rented an auger today ...
neither was "faster" ... got tired of digging a stuck auger out ... and unwedging the rocks it was stuck on ... so for about 4 hrs in the middle of the day it just sat there.
Then ... just to break up the day ... I started getting it stuck again in the afternoon.
Nice work if U can avoid it!
didn't kill me ... so I must be stronger?
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
I was going to stop by today, from the sounds of it, I'm glad I didn't.
Beaver st. over by the community college?
Jeff,
I think you could drive a tank over it. Looks really strong!
I read the “Post Hole†replies and figured I’d throw in a nickels worth of thought. When I build decks like that I don’t set the supporting post into a hole. IOW, I don’t use fence post technology on a table leg. (A table’s legs set on the floor, not in the floor) The footings I use may vary from expensively placed concrete piers to economically placed mobile home pads. (Mobile home pads are larger and thicker than the little deck pads from the local orange box) I usually have the post setting above ground on the concrete pads so they shed the water away from them. Since the deck is attached securely to an existing stable structure it usually doesn’t benefit from posts being set in the ground. Also if settling of the soil that the post’s pads are set on occurs latter it can be easily remedied.
I don’t know what your local codes say about deck supports so this may not be an applicable method for you but it sure beats digging piers if you can use it. I will do like you have done and place the pads under the completed deck if there is room. This is just another way to do it. What I see looks great so far. Good luck.