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I'm going through withdrawal...

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Smoke-Chem BBQ

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I see dark times ahead. No BBQ or grilling for two solid months. 😢

Our new (to us) house came with a deck in need of some serious work. That wasn't a surprise, but we eventually determined it was too far gone to fix, so a complete teardown and rebuild was required. That started two weeks ago.

It's a big deck, the top level wraps all the way around the house, and there is a smaller lower level just on the lake side. The upper level came with an outdoor kitchen, and plenty of room for my WSM smoker. Crummy pic shot through a window screen attached. The second crummy pic shot through a window screen today shows the big void where the deck and kitchen used to be. The smoker is now in the garage, outdoor kitchen disconnected from the gas lines and sitting on our driveway. All that remains are some temporary supports for a corner of the roof, and for the chalk lines showing where the new support pilings will go. With the old deck now gone, the crew has been jackhammering out the old pilings and digging holes for the new ones all week (third pic). The jackhammering starts at 7:30 am and continues until dark, so that's a lot of fun.

The bad news is they got a late start, and don't expect to finish until, maybe, between Christmas and New Years. Until then, no outdoor cooking of any kind. Most of our lot is too steep to use, and our little bit of flat driveway is needed for construction supplies and vehicles, so I can't break out the smoker. All of our doors and sliders now open out into empty space, so we can't even get in or out of the house except through the garage door.

We did smoke 20 lbs of brisket and 15 lbs of pork shoulder just before the demolition started, so the freezer is somewhat stocked, but I'm going to seriously miss being able to cook outdoors the rest of the year.

IMG_1242.JPG IMG_1604.JPG IMG_1605.JPG
 
I don't even want to know what that cost is gonna be . I can see why you miss it . Be nice to have it all shiney and knew .
. All of our doors and sliders now open out into empty space, so we can't even get in or out of the house except through the garage door.
If you don't have them blocked off do so . I know ,,, and I get it ,,, but it happens even when you know there's nothing there .
 
I don't even want to know what that cost is gonna be . I can see why you miss it . Be nice to have it all shiney and knew .

If you don't have them blocked off do so . I know ,,, and I get it ,,, but it happens even when you know there's nothing there .
A big improvement will be the change from wood decking and rails, to composite decking and cable railings, so I won't have to re-stain everything every few years, and the thin cables will barely block any of the view. Plus, if if we get a heavy snowfall and I need to get weight off of the deck, I can shovel through cable railings, rather than having to shovel OVER glass panels.

Good suggestion on blocking the doors. I put yellow Caution tape across every door just before the demolition started. It's still spooky looking out and seeing nothing but space out there. Even the lower level doors are 6-8' off above ground.

The shortcomings of the old deck were many, and almost comical were it not for the flaws being structural. One of the contractors who gave us a quote described it as 'amateur built'. I'd amend that to say 'amateur built by chimpanzees'. It was barely attached to the house, with only a few ledger bolts scattered here and there. The upper level was supported by 20' long 4x4s, which for the most part weren't cross braced in any way. There were six types of concrete footings used, several obviously substandard and tipping down the hill. The walkway down one side of the house was supported by a single footing and 4x4, and was sagging about 4" across a span of only 3' from house to outer edge. There was a randomly placed 2" step-down across the side of the master bedroom bump-out. Joist spacing was also random, and varied from 12" all the way up to 26". Deck board spacing on the kitchen bumpout was also variable, and went up to about 5/8" between boards. It was shaky enough that we could feel movement when our 35 lb dog walked across it. So, yeah, it had to go.
 
I put yellow Caution tape across every door just before the demolition started. It's still spooky looking out and seeing nothing but space out there. Even the lower level doors are 6-8' off above ground.
I made my living as a Commercial Carpenter . If any of the exterior access points can be opened , you should have something that will support 200 lbs . Because people open the door and lean on what's there to look out .
Best thing to do is disable them somehow . Cut a 1 X 2 and put it in the bottom track on your sliders .
For man doors with knobs , you can get a deterent for kids and older folks . They slip over the knob , and spin so the knob can't be turned .
Listen , I'm not trying to be a know it all pita . I've seen it happen .

composite decking and cable railings
Love the cable railing . Super sharp looking , and like you say , no restriction to the veiw .

Used to go to Gulf shores every year . Coastal propertys take a beating from ocean air , not to mention half assed constructed to start with .
 
I made my living as a Commercial Carpenter . If any of the exterior access points can be opened , you should have something that will support 200 lbs . Because people open the door and lean on what's there to look out .
Best thing to do is disable them somehow . Cut a 1 X 2 and put it in the bottom track on your sliders .
For man doors with knobs , you can get a deterent for kids and older folks . They slip over the knob , and spin so the knob can't be turned .
Listen , I'm not trying to be a know it all pita . I've seen it happen .


Love the cable railing . Super sharp looking , and like you say , no restriction to the veiw .

Used to go to Gulf shores every year . Coastal propertys take a beating from ocean air , not to mention half assed constructed to start with .
You're not wrong...it's just my wife and I here, and we haven't yet met anyone in-state with kids to come over, so there's that. All of the sliders do have a secondary security latch on the lower track, which is good. I'm familiar with the kid proof doorknob covers, but all of the doors have decorative levers rather than knobs, so we'd need a different solution there. I'll give it some thought.
 
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