large deck re-trim and restructure

[philthegreek]

Don't know whether this should go here or finish carpentry, but since it has structural elements i figured here is the place.
I just finished up this deck project. The house(not a small one) is 5 years old. The effective span for the joists is 15'-8" and the gross dimensions are 55'x19'.
I didn't want to inundate this thread with tons of pics since I have several hundred and I thought maybe we could discuss any questions that come up and then offer a couple of photos for illustration purposes.
This house was a spec home, the owners bought it when it was a shell, dried-in. Regardless of one's income, or ability to afford a particular sized home, the items I discovered in the process of doing this job have really surprised me, and not in a good way.
This project started about 2 1/2 yrs ago when the owners contacted me, interested in a deck drainage system and finishing of the underside of the deck.
They originally were skeptical of the pricing/cost of what i saw in a cursory inspection and i did not expect to get any call back on this one. Originally I figured that they were being cheap and shopping the lowest price instead of the most competent work. Well, it turns out that they were just a little gun-shy considering the ordeal they went through from purchase to "completion".
The pics below are before pics.

[tjbnwi]

If those are the before pictures, the deck already existed?

Tom

[philthegreek]

I have to resize thie rest of the pics as they are to big and this new interface does not automatically resize to fit.

Phil

[philthegreek]

Yes Tom, the "deck" already existed, but needed major restructuring to just make code compliance. I told the owners that I would not proceed on any portion unless I could bring the structure at least up to code minimum.
All the ledger bolts were in line, causing some checking between holes. I added truss reinforcing plates to halt any more cracks from forming and installed 4 of the tie assemblies to the house flooring system.

Phil

[philthegreek]

Here is an after shot

[tjbnwi]

Got it. None of that could be discerned from the posted photos.

The finished looks good. How did you create the dry space?

Tom

[philthegreek]

I am attaching drawings of what I proposed to the clients.

[philthegreek]

The dry-under system I used consists of 60mil EPDM. Cut in a wedge or trapezoid shape to achieve a 1/8"/ft drainage pitch. I had to use that pitch because the clients didn't want to encroach any further into their finished ceiling height. After the EPDM bladders were stapled in place, I went back and added 4 1/4" of 2x material using timberlock lags to attach and compress the overlapped EPDM. Compressing reduces the chance that leaks will occur and have a more positive hold on the EPDM fabric as well. Since the beadboard ceiling would negate any easy maintenance, I had to make sure about all the water diversion before I closed it in.


Phil

[tjbnwi]

I've done the same with Oatley shower pan liner, but I was doing a reskin. Stapled to the top of the joists, install planks, the membrane was not going anywhere. Bead board cieling also.

Nice drawings also, I hope you got paid for them. Would have sucked to create those and not get the job. what program do you use?

Post existed and set to a detail on house? Wondering the uneven spacing.

Tom

[philthegreek]

Going from top was not an option. Aside from the cross blocking on that big of a span, the mahogany deck was installed under the railing posts, which were not to be disturbed (at least not this year). Plus if I was going to do a tear off, I might as well do a tear down (which would have probably been the smart thing to do).
I got paid, but rolled the price into the whole project when they signed the contract.
Adobe Illustrator using CadTools plug-in from HotDoor software. I make all the fills as I need them and then add them to the library.

There is a triple seam above each post. In order to not have to redo the entire structure, we opted to leave the posts and use the Simpson heavy duty post bases and caps (they are getting expensive).
All the bladders empty into a seamless gutter hidden within the lintel(girder). Had it extruded on site.
The uneven spacing was shoddy layout and workmanship of the original builder. A similar home built by the same "developer" has already received $300K in repairs. I need to follow this guy around.

phil