Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Bruce]

Guess it will have to be a surprise when I go to pick it up.

If you are lucky it will be a Prius and save you even more on gas. Only 10 gallons each way to Mike's Don't know if Enterprise has them now though. They did in Feb 2004 when I rented 1 for a week to decide if I wanted to buy one. That was before they got "hot" and people were waiting months to get one.

 

[babsbag]

Dek Blocks. There is an entire website devoted to these work of wonder. These things are amazing and until a person tries them don't knock them. They sit on the ground, no leveling from block to block needed and each block just needs to not rock but doesn't have to be dead level. No concrete required. They aren't cheap but our local lumber yard sells them for 1/2 of what Lowe's does. I have built two decks, a chicken coop, 3 shed floors, and a two storage areas in the barn. I built them myself, alone and alone. Here is a side view of the coop, you can see the slope that I was working on. As long as the soil is stable these bricks rock.

Here is section two of the front deck. I did a 12x12 first (and made a believer out of my DH) and then this section and have since added a third that goes to the end of the house. It is very easy to add additional sections, I did our back deck in two sections as well.

 

[Bruce]

As long as the soil is stable these bricks rock.

Isn't that an oxymoron?

Always nice to have an endorsement from someone who has used a product.

 

[babsbag]

I suppose it is at that. My DH was very skeptical when I told him what I was going to do. I think that I did the back deck first, but I know that whichever one it was I did it while he was gone to work for 3 days and not around to tell me that it wouldn't work. I simply followed directions, no extra engineering, and no short cuts and they are all amazingly steady.

 

[Latestarter]

I could buy those blocks but I'm trying to do this on the cheap and use some stuff that I already have here. I have a bunch of 12"x12" red walkway pavers and a semi circle of cinder blocks from where the previous owner once had an above ground pool. I used all new wood, PT for anything that touches "ground/blocks" but regular for everything else. Couldn't afford PT plywood for the walls on this big a project so went with OSB. Of course I know it's crap and will eventually flake and fall apart without constant maintenance... I hope to get a good multi coat of sealant paint on it inside and out once completed. That ought to give me a good 5 years before a re-do will be needed. I used 3/4" PT plywood for the flooring. It has worked really well in the buck shelter (1/2 inch there due to much smaller size and closer/shorter joists). The goat pellets dry right out and disintegrate into powder...

 

[Baymule]

On the joist supports, I've decided to marry both examples GB showed. I'll nail in a "T" between joists with the center support down to a paver so I can support 2 joists at once.

Are you saying that you are going to block between the joists and put the 4x4 in the middle of the block in an attempt to support 2 joists? I am no carpenter, but I don't believe that this will strengthen the support of the floor like @greybeard suggested. I could be wrong and this might be a brilliant idea, but I haven't ever seen it done this way.

 

[babsbag]

Unfortunately I agree with Baymule.

BTW...my goats eat OSB, they love it.

 

[greybeard]

I reserved a Hyundai Elantra "class" vehicle but they can't guarantee make or model, so I have no idea what it will be. Guess it will have to be a surprise when I go to pick it up.

That's code talk for Yugo..

 

[greybeard]

I understood he was going to do something along these lines:

Cement deck blocks work good on hard soils.
Sister used them under here front porch. I average 2x/year going over there and leveling the porch where they sunk down in the soil and last time, I told her if she ever used any of that crap again I'd burn her house down.
Her 30+ year old son was there helping me and quipped "And I'm gonna help him".

 

[babsbag]

Our soil doesn't budge. It isn't clay, it isn't rock, it isn't sand...heck, maybe it isn't even dirt.

But there are cement blocks and then there are Dek-Blocks. They are not all created equal. These things weigh about 43 lbs a piece and it takes quite a few, I believe the spacing is not more than 5' and the joists are 2' on center. The weight is really well distributed. It looks like their website is no longer available but I have built so many of them I think I have it memorized. If I had to do all of these projects with a post hole digger and concrete I would have died a long time ago.