Freestanding deck project

This seems like a large project, and it is, but it really only took 3 few days to do and 2 days of waiting for cement to dry. So I picked the dimensions of the deck with the idea of having no scrap lumber left over and a minimal amount of cutting. So lumber comes in 8, 12, or 16 foot lengths at my local lumber yard so the deck is 8 feet wide by 12 foot 3 inches long.  Since my deck wood is going to go the width I picked 8 foot exactly for the length so all my deck boards will measure perfectly.

So for lumber for the structure of the deck ;
(4) 12 foot 2x6s since my spacing is 24 inches.
(1) 16 foot 2x6 plus some scrap dimensional lumber that is about 24 inches for cross pieces.
(4) 8 foot 4x4 pressure treated posts for the foundation.
(12) 16 foot 2x6s for actual deck

The total was somewhere between two and $300 for everything I needed and this will last longer than me.

Other materials needed were 12 inch diameter cylinder sauna tube and 12 bags of cement for the foundation and then the post brackets (6) and also (5) column caps. You'll need joist hangers nails, and vinyl coated or galvanized 10 penny nails around 3 inches long.

So first I marked out my deck location with stakes and strings. I dug six holes 18 inches deep and 12 inches in diameter INSIDE the string boundary. The four corners and then two in the middle of the two lengths. I cut and put the sauna tubes in the holes and then mixed my cement and put it in. It took about two bags per holes. The other way to do this is use the cement in the bottom of the hole only and put a pier block on top when it dries.

I let my cement dry a day and then cut the sauna tube off and attached my post hole brackets to the cement. The cement was still a little soft so I let it dry another day.

Now  the eight foot 4x4 pressure treated pieces are going to go across horizontally the width from cement pillar to cement pillar. Everything will be level to the cement pillar that is highest in elevation so start there and have a buddy hold a board across with a level on it and then measure what from the bottom of the board to the top of the cement pillar on the opposite side from the highest cement pillar. Mine was about 6 inches. This will be the length you need to cut off that fourth 4x4 post. Nail this vertical 4x4 piece to the post bracket with joist hanger nails with a level on the top. Then nail a column cap on top of it. That first high cement pillar does not get a vertical post
 and therefore does not need a column cap.

Now put the 8 foot 4x4 across here and you can nail it in as well but don't nail the other two 4x4 horizontals in until you put a board across all three to make sure the ends are even so you don't have a diamond shaped deck. Now the next vertical post you cut you need to level both across the width and length to find out the length of this next post. And don't forget to account for the width of the 4x4 when measuring with just a level board. So my next one was about 8 inches, then 12 inches and so on since I'm heading to the lowest corner.

Nail in all your vertical posts and column caps and once you have checked the horizontal 4x4s for square you can nail them to the column caps. This is the foundation for your freestanding deck. Then I simply lay my 12 foot 2x6s across this base to be my joists and nail on the two 8 foot ends. Then I put my scrap pieces between the floor joists for stability.

Now I put some weather seal on this bottom joist section before laying down the deck. I used two wooden stakes on each end for my spacing between boards and starting screwing in my deck. Then I put deck stain on this and built a make shift rail with my one left over 8 foot 2x6 that I made my railing posts out of  and then used cable across.

I love working out my deck overlooking the blackberry patch and taking lunches in the sun out there. I just planted some boysenberry and climbing peas around it so they can grow up the rails.

Making a cold frame to start spring seeds in winter

So you already know I am super excited for spring planting. I have my seeds germinating and a bunch of little sprouts. To start them off early and get them hardened off a cold frame is a way to have your seedlings outdoors but protected in case of one more frost.

I wish I had known about this last year since I moved in at the start of winter and my spring plants didn't get a good showing with the late season frosts stunting them as sprouts. Basically a cold frame is a mini greenhouse.

The top though has to be see-through and placed at an angle for the sun to warm up the sprouts that will be inside. I took some plexiglass out of a free large plastic picture frame for this part. The bottom stays open to the dirt, or it could be closed I suppose. The top needs to be able to open as well so you can use hinges or like I did, put a 1x2 piece to rest on the bottom. Unfortunately it means I have to use two hands to open it but I didn't have the right kind of hinges in my collection. I still have some chip board from my neighbor and some 2x6 scraps from my deck project I will post about later to make the sides out of.

I have heard too about a heat activated window opener, like a small shock, that many people use so if it gets too hot in the cold frame, the heat makes the opener open the lid to the cold frame and let some air in to keep the plants nice and healthy. I don't think I have too worry about things getting too hot in the winter here though. I was worried about snow load on the lid though so I designed it so the snow will slid off my lid.

The size of my cold frame was dictated by my plexiglass sheet. First I made a frame for this. I did only three sides however and left the bottom off so the snow will slide off. I used a table saw to cut the groove so the plexiglass will slide in. I used screws on the bottom edge with the heads keeping the plexiglass in place but glue in all the grooves will work probably better. It was too floppy leaving the bottom off completely though so I put a piece of wood underneath a few inches up from the bottom, as short as I could make it while being able to screw onto the wood frame to act  as a block to keep the lid on instead of hinges. Later I did it on the top as well.

Now I know the length of my cold frame. I cut my two front and back pieces to length. One I made about half the height of the other since I want a steep angle on mine. With a little difficulty I laid the lid on top to see what my width would be and cut the two sides of my box.

The angle on top is simply the height of the front piece to the height of the back piece. I now used 2x6s for the corner supports. If  you don't have scrap dimensional pieces, 2x2s would work great. Since I have an arbitrary angle, I made them a little long and penciled the angle on the piece and cut them that way. Then I screwed them to the side pieces while laying flat and then raised them vertical to screw the front and back pieces on.

If you are doing hinges, mark your holes and pre-drill the holes for the screws and do that, but like I said, I just put blocks under my lid to hold it in place. Then I painted it all dark brown because the plywood was very conspicuous in the place I put it, which is in a sunny location with the angle facing the south so it will get the most exposure. Plus the dark color should help absorb a little more heat as well.