managed to actually get some protection on the deck, finally! sanded the entire thing with 120 then 220 grit on a random orbit sander, used a belt sander with 120 grit on the edges to make ‘em all sooooper straight, and hit the posts with 220 grit on a finish sander (just so i could use one of each sander i’ve got ).

used compressed air to blow all the dust off, and clear in between the deck boards, then wiped the whole deck down with tack cloth. probably could have skipped that step… and probably should have. wouldn’t have made any difference, except for blowing a half hour that i could have been doing something else.

one coat of cabot spf to the deck surface and the posts, because it is the only reasonably clear (non-tinted) UV protection for the cedar that i could find.

it looks pretty good in person. tung oil would have looked worlds better… but after a couple months of sun, it’d look like crap. i really don’t like gray wood…

now, you may notice a complete lack of rails. that’s because we have yet to get the lumber, and really… how much use is the deck going to get in the winter? the rails can be done here and there… in between other projects.

close up, one of the posts… pretty cedar…

~

the cleanup stuff from the other day… we managed to get down to the concrete runner on one side of the “driveway”

ever mention how much i hate shoveling? i’m not the only one… rebecca doesn’t care for it, either. it doesn’t look like that much in the photo… but let me assure you, it really is. roots, hard packed, rocks, etc… pain in the ass.

we also thinned out our salvage pile, a lot. got rid of more than half of it, cleaned and stored a bunch more… this is the only stuff left in the yard

well… it’s getting there…

… so got some work done outside.

cut stringers for the steps… 7 1/2″ rise, 12 1/4″ tread. flows well with the deck.

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it’s really going slow. “it” being “everything.”
the deck is coming out very nice… but it’s taking forever. finished installing the decking surface on the upper deck, got maybe 1/3 of the lower deck’s on.

trimming the boards to go around the 4×4 posts as tight as possible took some time. ’specially with a pretty broken jigsaw. ended up doing most of it with a japanese trim saw and a chisel.
trimmed the end of the boards just before nightfall, so i at least feel like there was some accomplishment today.

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… mixed with a good bit of hard rain every now and then, just to make sure my ass was sufficiently soaked.

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but is it on the deck? nope.
the framing is complete, the wood is treated…

lovely green, it is. luckily it’ll all be covered/hidden by the decking and facia. the green stuff is a copperex (sold under lotsa brand names), which is an oil-based copper oxide and stain that the wood soaks up real well. prevents water damage, dry rot, fungus, termites, etc… it’s quite similar to what’s used on pressure treated outdoor wood.

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