As part of the exterior package, we have two small patio decks and two porches that needed to be finished off. Jim Quandt, a sailing/drinking/cooking friend, retired from Weyerhaeuser a couple years ago and moved up to Kala Point with his wife Char. We met them right off at TGIF and became friends quickly. Over the winter, Jim started a little carpentry/house repair business called Jim's Tool Time (think Tim Allen here) to keep him busy and fund his sailing/travel bug. He helped us previously by building 2 dozen corbels (braces) for the house, so when the deck issue surfaced, I gave him a call.
When it comes to decking now days, you have lots of choices. However, unless you're made of money and have a landscaper/repairman, you need to use a composite wood product. Lots of them out there, but Trex is probably the best and most popular (http://www.trex.com/). Its weather proof, comes in several colors and textures, and will out last wood by leaps and bounds. Wood needs to be power washed and treated every several years, and good wood (like Brazilian hardwoods) is expensive. So we picked out some Trex decking (Winchester Gray Trex from Carl's), ordered it, and hired Jim to finish this part of the house off.I was his assistant and had put all the support framing in place for the job. We started on Wednesday, and by Saturday morning, we had it all finished. We used 19 pieces of 20 ft Trex ($1026; 1.1" by 5.5") and 6 pieces of trim board ($275; 3/4" x 7.25"), and two boxes of square drive screws ($102).
The cost of decking came out to be about $1400 for 150 square feet, which nets out at $9.33/sq. ft. This doesn't count the 2x6 and 4x4 pressure-treated lumber, hardware, and cement blocks I used for the framing and supports (probably a couple 100 bucks there). Labor is typically equal to materials, so if you hired it all out the cost would be $20/sq. ft or 3 big ones for the project. So we saved a bit by using Jim and my labor; the job looks professionally done (of course), and its one more thing off our list.
He's off to the County fair and sailing, and we're off to a short vacation. I promised Nancy an overseas cruise to a foreign country (i.e., Victoria, BC). We'll spend some loonies, eat some good food, and see some fancy plants and trees at Buchart Gardens (research for our winter landscaping projects). Interestingly, I was drug through there by my parents 45 years ago (1964 Seattle Worlds Fair trip). Now we're going on our own and actually looking forward to it. Who ever said you become your parents was right.
