Wow, I've been pretty terrible about updating this thread. So here are a few pictures. I swear, it's all the little things that take forever. Like the hold-downs that go through the ledger into the house. I failed to build the deck so that the joists lined up, so that took extra work to get it correct. Also, attaching posts and getting them plumb is kinda hard, especially when all the joists/beam/ledger want to curve/twist/bow every which way.
^^^ All the joists installed, and the sway bracing. I recycled some of the handrail posts from the old deck as the sway bracing, and recycled 2x8 joists into blocking.
I failed to take pictures of the form for the landing pad at the bottom of the stairs, but it's just a rectangle made with 2x4's. After I framed out the stairs, I was dissatisfied with how rigid the posts were, so I rebuilt the bottom with more bracing (recycled 2x8's again!), and it turned out like so:
I've heard that cutting stringers is a tough job, but it wasn't that bad. I used a piece of paper to make a template (10 3/4" run, 7.5" rise), traced it onto the first 2x12, and then used that 2x12 as a template for the other 4 stringers.
I'm using lots of bolts and lag screws and blocking on all the handrail posts, because I really hate rickety-feeling railings. And glue, too.
I had the second inspection (for framing) on Wednesday, and passed with flying colors.
This past week, I've been working on the treads and risers for the stairs. I chose to do the stairs first, because the decking on those will affect the layout of the decking on the main part of the deck.
Today, I had the great pleasure of working on the decking for the main part of the deck. It goes really fast when all you need to do is slap a piece of decking down, space it with a piece of wood, and drive a couple screws. Here's (almost) all the decking in place:
They say a poor craftsman blames his tools. Well, the lazy craftsman builds his own tools. I made this little jig to help me accurately drill the pilot holes for all the screws:
It fits in the space between the planks, and has a bit that sticks down, so that it set up right next to the joist below. And then it gives me two holes perfectly located to drill.
And here's the result from using that tool:
Ehh, it's a little hard to see, but they're nicely lined up.
Next steps:
--re-attach the two posts next to the house so that there's enough space between them and the side of the house, and so they're actually plumb
--add the last couple planks of decking around said posts
--drive another 1,000+ screws. I'll need to get a couple more T20 bits--it seems like one bit lasts for about 100 screws before it wears out and starts camming.