He was tired of having no solid clean place to sit outside, so imgur user ktownkite decided to change his backyard a little bit. His backyard was identical to every neighbor and he wanted to set his yard apart from the rest. It all started with this concept drawing below.
Here is the initial concept.
Laying out the posts was a crucial part of the design.
After measurements were taken, it was time to lay out some chairs to see if the dimensions were comfortable.
Digging post holes sucks. This was the only part of the project that he sub-contracted out.
The post holes were dug 4 feet deep. Sonotube was placed down inside, filled with concrete and left to dry.
Treated hardwood for the frame-work and some beautiful cedar deck planks. Nothing beats the smell of fresh cedar.
Time to set the beams.
He doubled up the main beam for strength and properly plumbed and leveled everything.
16″ on center with 2×8 joists may be a little overkill but this deck will last a lifetime.
70 plus joist hangers with 10 screws a piece = 2 broken drill bits and a sore hand.
He ran into a slight problem here due to the house not being completely square.
The stairs were longer on the left than the right which would end up in a triangular shaped stair in the corner. Time to improvise.
Some stairs like he planned.
And how about a vegetable garden!
Who doesn’t love a vegetable garden? He doubled up the border for rigidity.
Added some skirting and now he has some veggies off the deck.
Blocking and nailing strips are added next.
Working from the bottom up.
Take a look at that double border with 45 planks!
Check out the perfect miters!
He even used hidden fasteners so all you see is the beautiful raw wood.
He just lined up the boards and made a clean-cut. Who needs a tape measure?
He just needs to get rid of the scraps and plant some delicious veggies but the deck is finally finished.
More skirting will be added here once the dirt goes in.
Time to clean it up.
Cedar is such a beautiful wood.
The dogs approve and the neighbors are jealous. When it comes to a deck, that’s all that matters.
All it takes is a little bit of work and a good idea, and you can transform your entire backyard into a personal little sanctuary. With a little bit of skill and a few practice cuts, pretty much anyone can build an awesome deck like this off their back porch. Just think of how proud you’ll be when you can tell your friends, “I built that”.