Project : Building An Upper Deck
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This was a fun project :) The old deck was falling apart and much too small. We had to think of a way to enlarge the deck and maintain privacy. We came up with the idea of building a main upper deck with a privacy fence, and a mini deck that would allow you to come down onto the yard without redoing the straight down stairs as was previously installed. While this does not actually save any space per square foot, it does allow the rest of the yard to be enlarged. Take a look at what we did :)

Email : bougieprojects@gmail.com

Step By Step : Each Photo Explained.

01 Upper Deck 01 : Before : Day 1
Here's the original deck. It's small, rotted out and unstable. We gotta take it down and rebuild it Bigger and Better :)

02 Removed Rails : Before : Day 1
We removed the rails. Let the games begin!

03 Removed Stairs : Before : Day 1
Before we rebuild it - It all must come down! The only thing we are leaving is the frame, it's still in great shape. But, we'll make it stronger anyhow - just in case.

04 Removed All : Before : Day 1
I checked the frame better and decided to take it all down. I noticed rot at the bricks and decided it would be better to replace everything.

Removing Bricks : Before : Day 2
The bricks needed to be replaced because the cement was dust! There was also some pointing that needed to be done, to prevent any water from coming in.

New Bricks : After : Day 2
Now! The rebuilding starts! The old bricks are replaced with new, and the pointing is being finished off. We can start our deck soon :)

Starting Frame 01 : After : Day 2
While our brickman is doing his thing, we start building our frame. Normally we'd wait until he's done, but we have a tight finishing date.

Starting Frame 02 : After : Day 2
Now, you can get the idea of how large this deck will be. We are slowly boxing in our brickguy - lol.

Starting Frame 03 : After : Day 2
Now we've pretty much got him boxed in :) Our brickguy is just about done, so were ready for the last stage of the actual frame.

Starting Frame 04 : After : Day 2
The cements dry enough where we can anchor and bolt the frame to the wall. Now, the fun stuff is about to begin! Progress :)

Reinforcing Frame 01 : After : Day 2
Now, it's starting to look like a deck! We are reinforcing the deck. Everything must be perfectly level and even - I don't want no lean or bounce.

Reinforcing Frame 02 : After : Day 2
Aaaaa What a awsome photo - gotta love that pic! Level and Strong :)

Reinforcing Frame 03 : After : Day 3
We want it even stronger! :P So now, we are adding 2x6's to the 4x4's to make our supports even tougher :)

Reinforcing Frame 04 : After : Day 3
Even though the frames bolted to the wall - we are adding even more inforcements to make the deck even stronger! Hey, it's an upper deck, so take no chances!

The Frame : After : Day 3
The Frame. Looks good :) We'll add even more inforcements a little later, but for now we have something to work with.

The Floor 01 : After : Day 3
Now we start the floor of the deck. Here's were it starts to look finished, but we still have a long way to go :)

The Floor 02 : After : Day 3
I included this pic to show you how big the bolts are that we used to keep this deck together :)

Lining Them Up : After : Day 3
There are a lot of screws that go into a deck. What I do is, line them up with a straight ege prior to screwing them in. It gives it a nice screw line finish and it's easier on the back :P

The Look I Want : After : Day 3
Here's the look I want for the deck floor. Nice :) Straight screw lines and a nice flush finish .... looking good :)

The Mini Deck 01 : After : Day 3
Now, we start building the frame for the minideck that allows us to get from top to bottom. We started with the floor. This is a side angle shot - we'll make it upright in a minute :P

The Mini Deck 02 : After : Day 3
Now! See what I mean? The floor is upright and we added the supports underneath. Once again, we supported the mini deck with deck blocks :) You'll also notice, against the wall - we started adding our staircase.

The Mini Deck 03 : After : Day 3
Here's another view of the mini deck and the stair support.

The Mini Deck 04 : After : Day 3
Now we have our floor down on the mini deck. We'll add further supports a little later.

Security And Sturdy : After : Day 3
Here's a close look at the mini decks corners. Same big screws are used for security and support.

Security And Sturdy : After : Day 3
Here's a look from underneath - the inside. Look at these monsters :P Security, security, security - Thats what I want :)

Doublecheck All : After : Day 3
Now - Before we continue, everything is double checked. We must make sure everything is level and equal in distance as well as height.

Reinforcements : After : Day 3
Before we continue, all the remaining reinforcements must be done. Here, you'll notice we are adding even more anchors and bolts to the building and deck.

Reinforcements : After : Day 3
Time for a haircut Bill! And I was busted smoking lol. Hey - It's outside - Gimme a Break! The days running late and I want outta here. I'll work during break :P

The Final Stairs : After : Day 3
Now, we put it all together. This is a shot of the final stair supports.

The Final Stairs : After : Day 3
Progress! It's starting to look good :)

The First Step : After : Day 3
YeHaaaa! The first step has been added to the project. It's all up from here :P

Stairs : After : Day 3
Thats what I'm talking about :) Now you can see our project is turning out perfect :) I Like It :)

Steps Meet Deck : After : Day 3
Thats it! The days over :) The steps meet the deck and all looks good.

Old Clothesline : After : Day 4
You can't have a new deck with an old clothesline :P This is the rusty original one with it's worn out cord. We gotta change it :)

New Clothesline : After : Day 4
Here it is :) A shiney new clothesline to match the new deck :)

Privacy Fence 01 : After : Day 4
Because the deck is an upper deck, my friends wanted a privacy fence to shield them from the next doors neighbours. So we begin with the posts.

Privacy Fence 02 : After : Day 4
Our privacy fence is supported by this 2X4 bolted to the bricks. Naturally, the bolts are held into the bricks by anchors.

Privacy Fence 03 : After : Day 4
Here, you'll notice how we bolt the beams with these massive bolts! I want this baby solid!

Posts : After : Day 4
Here's the posts layout. The first 2 are exactly the same height (left and center), the last post is much higher - thats the privacy fence post.

Post Supports : After : Day 4
At this point, we add more 2x4's to strenghten our frame posts. We already made sure our deck was level, and the small cut 2X4 is now used as a level spacer. Next step is adding the fence itself :)

Privacy Fence 04 : After : Day 4
Now, we begin building the privacy fence. As you can see, we are using 1X6 wood, the same we would use for a standard street level fence, not deck fence. Deck fence will be used after the privacy fence has been completed.

Privacy Fence 05 : After : Day 4
Here, you can see how the top and bottom 2X4's will support the privacy fence will are about to build :)

Privacy Fence 06 : After : Day 4
The screws are set this way to prevent cracking of the wood, to fully use our supports and to give the finished fence a nice look :)

Railing 01 : After : Day 5 : End
Now, the process of finishing off our new deck. We start adding the railing.

Railing 02 : After : Day 5 : End
Another shot of the same railing from a different angle - Sexy! :P

Railing 03 - Endcut : After : Day 5 : End
We add a little endcut - at every cut me make. This prevents the wood from rotting overtime. Hey! We want this deck to last :)

Railing 04 : After : Day 5 : End
It's begining to take shape. Here, you can see the way we made our angle for the railing, to take you from minideck to maindeck.

Railing 05 : After : Day 5 : End
Here's another look - As you can see - More endcut is used - At every cut I make. Protection!

Railing 06 : After : Day 5 : End
The finishing :) Using our spacers, we mark off where we must install our supports, and now your seeing what the finished project will look like :)

Completed Deck 01 : After : Day 5 : End
Thats It! It's finished. We probally could have done the deck in 4 days, but the weather wasn't nice to us. Now. We have to let it sit as is for about a year, before we come back and stain it. This allows the deck plenty of time to dry out. Yes yes yes lol - My friend can still use the deck - effective immediately. Have Fun - Hope were invited to the BBQ :)

Completed Deck 02 : After : Day 5 : End
Here's a side angle shot of our new deck. I feel like I'm snapping pics of a playboy model - lol Noway - This deck is way sexier :P

Completed Deck 03 : After : Day 6 : End
We added little extra's - like this ball type accent. We also added solar lights at some points. No need for wires and no electricity increase :)

Completed Deck 04 : After : Day 6 : End
And a final look of the deck. Hope you like it :) See ya next year to stain this incredible upper deck :)

Below - Are a few websites you might find interesting :)