Category Archives: Decks

Decks

Small Porch in SoPo

I built this porch using douglas fir and pressure treated pine. The toprail is made from select grade douglas fir 2 x 4 and has half lapped corner joints for to minimize movement. The customer wanted something that was durable, paintable, and low profile. The job also involved a bit of shingling. The area around the new porch was re-shingled as needed, with premium grade eastern white cedar shingles.

  • Half-lap joint on toprail
  • New porch on 1920's bungalow in South Portland, Maine
  • New porch on 1920's bungalow in South Portland, Maine
  • New porch on 1920's bungalow in South Portland, Maine
Decks

Composite Deck with Cumaru Rail

This deck was built using composite PVC decking for low maintenance and durability. The guardrail system is made from cumaru and powder coated aluminum balusters. Cumaru is a tropical hardwood that is similar to ipe at a much lower price point. The high bush blueberries around the front of the deck were a great source of snacks throughout the job. I miss those things.

Decks

Ipe Deck with Cablerail in Falmouth, Maine

A customer in Falmouth requested a low maintenance deck durable enough to stand up to tough Maine winters. I modified the homeowner’s original design and built a custom 52′ x 12′ deck using Ipe, one of the most durable hardwoods available. Stainless steel cable with low-profile powder coated aluminum posts provide an unobstructed view of the wooded backyard .

A 50′ run of Ipe handrail installed on a stainless steel cable rail system from Viewrail
Viewrail cable rail with a custom ipe toprail
Another view of the framing. Blocking between the joists stiffens the guardrail posts.
A closer view of the framing. A double 2″ x 10″ carrying beam on 6″ x 6″ posts
Decking installation in progress. This deck was installed with Ipe clip hidden fasteners from Deckwise.

Decks

Douglas Fir and Pressure Treated Pine Deck

Here’s a very large 500 square foot deck I built in South Portland. The guardrail was built from Douglas Fir and the Classic Aluminum Balusters from Deckorators. The homeowner applied a clear UV sealer to the decking and guardrail to prevent the wood from graying.

View from the back. The deck is 32 feet wide and 22 feet deep. The railing has a total of 188 balusters.
The deck had a single set of 4 foot wide stairs to the backyard. I milled a handrail from Douglas fir to match the guardrail.
A view of the carrying beam. I used clamps and ratcheting tie downs to roll the carrying beam plumb.
Detail of the top rail. Love how the tight grain looks.

 

 

Decks

Replacing a Girder / Carrying Beam

This past fall I replaced a carrying beam supported by steel tubes that were buried directly in the ground sometime in the 1970’s. The beam was rotten and the ends of the steel posts had broken at ground level.

I began by removing the old beam and leveling the structure using a temporary girder and bottle jacks. Then new 8″ diameter concrete footings were placed 48″ below grade to support 6″ x 6″ posts. A seat notch supports each side of the the beam which was constructed using three plies of 2″ x 12″ Douglas fir.  Copper flashing on the top and ends prevents water and ice from entering the space between the plies.

I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the final step – I added cleats below the splice on each side of the 6″ x 6″ post to support the ends of the beams’ center ply. The cleats are attached to the posts with 5/8″ galvanized threaded rod.

Decks, SketchUp

Cumaru deck with LED lighting, Stone countertop

This project began as a hand drawn sketch a customer gave me. With his input, I created many revisions in SketchUp to which we added a lot of unique features – low voltage LED disc lights, concealed lighting under the countertop, hidden fasteners in the decking, and a custom milled two piece riser. The framing is constructed from pressure treated southern yellow pine. The decking, rail, posts and trim is Cumaru from Bozovich Timber Products.

Decks

Porch in Cape Elizabeth

The original porch on this old farmhouse in Cape Elizabeth was supported by ant infested pine timbers buried in the soil. The whole structure was on the verge of collapse. I installed temporary supports for the roof, removed the old porch,then replaced it with this one. The new concrete footings with pressure treated posts supporting the structure should last for many years to come.