Jesus was a carpenter

[knucklebuste]

But he had other plans for me. But he did help me build my deck. It's out of mahogany. I wanted to use that synthetic wood, but Trex (major company) has a class action law suit against it for mold with it's product. Most synthetic wood is warrantied for 10 years, but has only been out a few years. So I saw this mahogany and was like whoa!!!!! Looked real nice. Plus it was about $800 cheaper. I added on to this original 10x12 deck and built a patio. Unfortunately the IDIOT I had put in the blocks diddn't know how to use a leveling string and the thing is going to be 2.5" off at one end. So I'll be ripping that out and doing it myself, like everything else. I can't seem to find anyone to do anything properly. I'm also a bit of a nitpicker, so I chose to do carpentry stuff myself. If stuff is off a 16th of an inch, it's blinding to me and keeps me from sleeping at night ::)
So the only solution is to do it myself. I also redid the front porch and used what is called ironwood (dense species of mahogany)
The stuff is brutal to work with. So heavy and unforgiving. Also with mahogany, every hole must be drilled. The lumber yard wanted me to use these square head bit screws. Every other one breaks, even with predrilling the hole. If you use the next size up drill bit, the screws don't have enough bite. So I ended up using stainless stell ribbed 2" nails for the decking. What a nightmare this project was. But when the stain goes on, it looks like it should be inside, not outside. I'll never use that pressure treated garbage again after seeing what this looks like. Someday soon hopefully it will be finished and I can ride my bike.
Knuck

Close up of the ironwood
http://webpages.charter.net/kfarrelldba/deck/D9.JPG
http://webpages.charter.net/kfarrelldba/deck/D8.JPG
http://webpages.charter.net/kfarrelldba/deck/D7.JPG
http://webpages.charter.net/kfarrelldba/deck/D6.JPG
http://webpages.charter.net/kfarrelldba/deck/D5.JPG
http://webpages.charter.net/kfarrelldba/deck/D4.JPG
http://webpages.charter.net/kfarrelldba/deck/D3.JPG
http://webpages.charter.net/kfarrelldba/deck/D2.JPG
http://webpages.charter.net/kfarrelldba/deck/D1.JPG

[ShatteredFrame]

Knuck,

Nice work. Oddly I just recieved samples of Trex, I need to redo my decking and was looking for something more durable than PT, plus something with less Maint. 900 SqFt decks are a biatch to preasure wash then retreat. Guess I'll have to do some digging on that mold thing.

Beautful choice of wood. You probably won't regret it in the end.

Peace.

SF

[Big Game]

Any idea where that gorgeous mahogany comes from?

From rain forests!

So let all your liberal neighbors up there in taxachewsetts know that you're helping to destroy the rain forests because you want a deck that looks good and will last a long time. But you know what? I bet you won't hear them bitchin, for two reasons:

(1) It looks damn fine (really...nice job)

(2) Only Republicans destroy rain forests. (liberals have a social conscious so they don't leave an impact no matter what they do).

But what would Jesus do?

I think he'd join you for a beer.

Well done.

[gungywump]

Knuck!!

It looks awesome but, . . .

Please don't severly dissappoint me. But, is that house in a cookie-cutter neighborhood? It looks awfully close to the house next door. And, that house, other than color, looks like a board for board copy of your little abode. I think you may need to lay off the bikes for a while and save up to move. I expect more/better from/for you. You need a place that screams from the street "THIS IS KNUCKS PLACE . . . STAY THE F*@K OUT!". Right now, I'm looking at those pictures and I'm thinking "Please take off your shoes so you don't stain the Martha Stewart decor." WTF! ;)

[knucklebuste]

Knuck!!

It looks awesome but, . . .

Please don't severly dissappoint me. But, is that house in a cookie-cutter neighborhood? It looks awfully close to the house next door. And, that house, other than color, looks like a board for board copy of your little abode. I think you may need to lay off the bikes for a while and save up to move. I expect more/better from/for you. You need a place that screams from the street "THIS IS KNUCKS PLACE . . . STAY THE F*@K OUT!". Right now, I'm looking at those pictures and I'm thinking "Please take off your shoes so you don't stain the Martha Stewart decor." WTF! ;)



Yeah, it's just an average house, 20' from the next house. My last house was in Hubbardston, MA. I had 2 acres of field with a house smack in the middle and I diddn't have the time to maintain the yard. I got a chinaman, cuts my grass, $15 a week, ;D
My wife is pretty yuppieized. I'm slowly but surely working on her. Well, this kid ain't moving anytime soon. However when we bought the house, it was the cheapest house in the state @ 225k
I could sell it for a lot more now, but where the hell am I gonna go?
Oh and there is a sign by the front door. "Beware of attack neighbor"
Knuckle

[knucklebuste]

Knuck,

Nice work. Oddly I just recieved samples of Trex, I need to redo my decking and was looking for something more durable than PT, plus something with less Maint. 900 SqFt decks are a biatch to preasure wash then retreat. Guess I'll have to do some digging on that mold thing.

Beautful choice of wood. You probably won't regret it in the end.

Peace.

SF

I wouldn't worry about it man. That's just what a guy at the lumber yard told me.

Knuckle

Kevin,

Your work looks excellent. Is that the real mahogany or the Cambera that is somtimes sold as mahogany. Use a Spar varnish or it will all turn black.
Can you tell me the on center spacing of your ballusters. They look a little too far apart.

bill

[knucklebuste]

Thanks Bill, it's real mahogany. You'd know it if you worked with it. It's a very unforgiving medium to work with. I think I used 3.75 or something like that. I eyeballed most of them then broke out the calculator for the last couple sections and screwed up. So there is 2 sections where they are like 3.25 or so while the rest are 3.75. I could never make any money at this crap. Something that is a little off drives me mad. I'll take some pics later of the finished product. Finished the patio yesterday and I'm using a 2 part process for the finish of the deck. A special wash that you have to scrub with and let sit for an hour then wash off (smells like alchohol) then you wait 24 hours and use the stain (forget what it's called)
Kevin

[CouchingTiger]

Looks awesome Knuck! Building crap is great.

-Couch

[knucklebuste]

Thanks Couch. Much more fun than rotting in a cube for 9 hours a day trying to fix Oracle's shitty software. However I don't know if I'd be hip to building mahogany decks for a living either 8)
**** is absolutely brutal to work with
Knuckle

[Jisch]

...absolutely brutal to work with

Guess it depends on what you're building. I enjoyed working with mahogany for this:

[TA]

I am supprised the yard didn't sell you the hidden fasteners for the Iron wood (real name Ip'e (eepay)).That way you woud have no fasteners showing.STILL LOOKS GREAT !
On all the Ip'e decks iv'e built I used Messmers oil. Looks real nice.The other great thing about Ip'e is you can let it go grey and just use the cleaner and it's back to new.If you want to keep it up put a coat on every year.
Your good on the spacing code says a 4" ball shouldn't pass through.
It is great to build stuff all the time but come January and February that cubical sounds real nice!

Happy decking
Terry

[Jesus]

Jesus was just curious about the post, is all. Upon entering the index page, Jesus only saw the following under the Off the Bike heading:

"Jesus was a car..."

Jesus wondered, a car... what? Was Jesus a carpetbagger? No, couldn't be. Was Jesus maybe a carpet muncher? Nah. Brothers don't do dat. Perhaps Jesus was a caroling? Maybe, maybe. Jesus loves Christmas carols! Or, in these times of diet fads, maybe Jesus was a carb counter. That would be WAY wrong. Jesus just loves fried chicken and biscuits too much. White people do some crazy ****... Atkins diet. ****.

So Jesus finall ended his curiousity by clicking on the aforementioned post. Jesus was a carpenter! Of course! Jesus should have known.

[knucklebuste]

I am supprised the yard didn't sell you the hidden fasteners for the Iron wood (real name Ip'e (eepay)).That way you woud have no fasteners showing.STILL LOOKS GREAT !
On all the Ip'e decks iv'e built I used Messmers oil. Looks real nice.The other great thing about Ip'e is you can let it go grey and just use the cleaner and it's back to new.If you want to keep it up put a coat on every year.
Your good on the spacing code says a 4" ball shouldn't pass through.
It is great to build stuff all the time but come January and February that cubical sounds real nice!

Happy decking
Terry


Yeah, the lumber yard sold me these square head bit screws. They suck. Even predrilling the holes, they still break. If it was up to the lumber yard, they would have you bang the nails in with your head so you don't damage the wood. But they've never built a mahogany deck with 80000 nails either. Have them do it for a couple hours (put screws in that is) and they'll be using the ribbed nails before long as well. At least you can get the nails out somewhat if they bend. The screws, you must use vice grips and back them out to remove them. The idiots also told me to stain the underside of my deck as well. YEAH, RIGHT.

Knuckle

I have to agree with the idiots at the lumber yard about the underside sealer.
Here is the logic.
Wood will balance with the moisture content of the air around it.
Rain falls on deck and through.
Humidity from evaporation and shady area below deck enters wood from bottom and swells boards.
sun drys top of deck and planks shrink
Deck planks end up all cupped.

I would'nt use anything expensive. A spray water sealer is enough to maintain balance and will last a long time without the sun hitting it.

IMHO
bill

[knucklebuste]

:o

Makes sense. However what sealer do you recommend? I have one of those bottles that you pump up to spray stuff with. However when I tried to use it under the deck, the **** just fell on my head, and even got some in my mouth. It was that penofin crap. I never want to use/smell that crap again. I tried to spray it and it just made a huge mess. Any other ideas?
How quickly will the wood go bad if I don't seal the underside of it? Caus I'd rather replace all the decking than wear/inhale/taste penothin again.

Kevin

Okay Kevin time to buy a full face sheild. Or at least some safety glasses and wear a dust mask.
You got a nice compressor there next to the tool box and I know you can find your way to SEARS. Get a 1qt cup sprayer and lay down(up?) a coat of somthing clear, latex based, and non-toxic.

bill

[knucklebuste]

Yeah, a mask and face shield ::)

LOL.

Jeesh, why aren't I that smart?

Kevin

[nhiker]

Knuck, That deck looks great and I truly freaking mean it. You are a regular Norm effen Abrahams! but I gotta tell you your making me feel like a very negligent home owner. I got no deck made outa no mahogany :'( all I got is a freaking bathroom I have been remodeling for like 2 yrs now. My wife has been following this post dude so do all of us negligent lazy sob's out there a favor and keep this **** to yourself aight! Jeeze man be a guy! >:( ;)

[knucklebuste]

Fix that bathroom ya lazee prick. LOL

Knuckle