[trav007]

Howdy. I've just spent a good deal of time perusing alot of the finished products that some of you ahve posted over time. From extreme birdhouses, stereo units or IPE decks to full house jobs with cupolas or whatever. There is alot of craftsmanship and alot of artistry going into these projects; I only hope the homeowners appreciate them half as much as we can.

I haven't posted much lately but I was hoping to leave a few photos of a recently finished deck in order to get a little feedback on what your opinions are. I'm always looking to improve so if you have thoughts or questions let me know.

Here are some details you may want:

Deck - 12x29
Roof - 16x35
Decking - Cedar 6/4
Framing - PT Hemlock
Concrete piers - self poured
Railing - Cedar/Rebar

Now for the photos....I guess I can only put on three photos for now....I'll see if I can put more on at a later point. I hope these ones will be OK for now. Thanks for looking.

 

[BuiltByMAC]

Holy crap, that's a massive roof! Definitely got the rustic thing going once they walk out the back door!

Looks like you powdercoated the rebar - I'm starting on a project next week that has those (actually, I'm rebuilding a cap rail 'cause the previous fools couldn't bend it to save their life!). Not my thing but it definitely fits in with the rustic look of the deck/roof

One question - what steps did you take to affix the porch roof to the house roof?

Nice job, man!

Mac

 

[Glid]

I was wondering about the rain system. The deck roof has a gutter but how do you keep the main roof runnoff from the grill and plant table? Does the HO plan to have that big a$$ open area covered some day?

 

[John Hyatt]

Sure looks like your rafters are landing on the existing roof,if so thats a really bad idea. J.

 

[Jake Stevens]

Your roof looks like it's not tied in to the Main roof. I like the job but I think it would look better with a hip roof. The roof you have now just looks so big.

 

[neolitic]

The deck looks great.:thumbsup:
The roof however...It looks like
a giant airfoil/wing.
I'd be afraid of wind lift qualities
for sure, and what happens when they
need to re-roof the house?

 

[deckman22]

Are you waiting on post caps, the square cut post look unfinfished. I agree with the others, the roof design could have been done better. A ridge hitting the house roof with 2 valleys & a gable or hip out on the beam. If you put beam heigth the same as the house plate you could tear off the overhang, joist it out & have a nice flat ceiling with lights & fans. As it is it's problematic when time to re-roof as noted above.

The workmanship is done nicely, only the roof design I have a problem with.

 

[thom]

The deck looks nice, the roof looks nice, but the tie-in between the roof and the house roof looks dubious. Then, there's no blocking. Maybe it's just our inspectors but we are disallowed open spans longer than 10', anything longer (dimension lumber only) must be blocked to maximum 10' bays.

 

[redwood]

You asked for it. I'll echo the sentiments of all above, everything looks great except for the roof tie in. A ridge, perpendicular to the ex. roof plane was called for. More work and money for sure, but it would make a difference.

 

[trav007]

Thanks for the comments thus far. I knew the roof was going to draw some questions. I'll try my best to answer them all.

The roof rafters are full size 2 x 6 douglas fir. I can't remember what my rafter tables stated for dimensional 2 x 6's but I am below the maximum distance allowed (just under 14') and of course the lumber is stronger. They are attached to the house via screws and a carriage bolt through the existing roof with a silicone gasket between the two. After they were attached they were flashed out with sheet metal.

As for the design it began with the customer as always. It is in a windy area. We left the top open so as to allow the wind to "pass through" rather than catch underneath. This in turn meant we had to leave the existing gutter system on the house, so now there are two collection systems in effect.

What else, the post caps were made and ready for install but the HO decided they liked the posts without so I sanded them smooth and chamfered the edges. The re-bar is painted with a rust paint similar to Tremclad. And as far as re-roofing.......well I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. (at that point the opening will probably disappear and become a falshed out transition) I'll let you know in twenty years.

 

[Greg Di]

The roof!

Sometimes you have to put your foot down and just say no to a bad design feature or walk from the project. I'm sure you did your best to convince them to change it and then did your best to waterproof it, but you just built a can of worms.

It's one thing to be Frank Lloyd Wright and be on the cusp of revolutionary design, but that roof just looks weird and very unorthodox. If they couldn't pay to do it correctly, they should have waited until they could afford it. It's not like that deck was a bottom feeder project. I would have torn off that roof and tied into it with a gable with blocking and then re-roofed to blend it in.

Nice work on the deck.

 

[jeffaah]

I like all the aesthetic elements of the deck and roof. I like the black steel combined with the wood tone. I like being able to see daylight were the rafters meet the house. But I agree, you just built a roof that is a big can of worms.

Now I said I like the deck.....but i don't like how it looks on THAT house. Being two completely different styles, I don't think they compliment each other at all. I think that rustic style deck would look better as a stand alone....a completely separate entitiy

 

[trav007]

Here is a photo of the deck from a little further away.

Redwood could you give me a visual of what you had in mind? I think I see what your saying but I could be wrong.

 

[Greg Di]

Here is a photo of the deck from a little further away.

Redwood could you give me a visual of what you had in mind? I think I see what your saying but I could be wrong.

He means tying the new ridge into the existing roof so the ridge is perpendicular to the existing roof and making a gable roof for the deck like this.

 

[redwood]

Yes, Greg's got it, though judging by your scale, the ridge will be much farther up. Also, you can get by with fewer posts then Greg shows, unless you want to enclose it.

 

[trav007]

I thought that was what you meant. Honestly, it never occurred to me to do a gable roof here. I guess I was more concerned with the style of the deck to consider the option on the roof. I think I'll rip off the existing roof and try the gable........on sketchup.

 

[DecksEtc]

I can't speak to the roof, as it's not my speciality but it seems to have been covered enough already.
The deck looks good, can't speak to the framing from your pics but I would assume you're okay on that front.

I do however, have a suggestion regarding your gates. I really would advise that an angled cross piece be put in place so that they don't sag. From what I can see from the pictures, those gates are just waiting to sag.

 

[trav007]

The gates are fully welded to flat bar and then inset into the dado. I don't think they will sag but you never know. At least my welder believes they "will not sag". Hopefully the kids don't use them as a swing. Thanks

 

[woodchuck2]

I too think it looks great with the exception of the roof. IMO i wouldnt want the wind traveling through it, wont the water want to follow the rafter where they meet at the roof/shingle? Seems to me water would be dripping down from the rafters inside the covered deck and the wood will be water stained over time.

 

[John Hyatt]

Nice site Travis, Man I dont know how you make out with small jobs but way to go!!! I have always wanted to get back in to doing more inventive things but I could never make a dime at it.

I like the project its kinda country and really if you had done a hip the reslut would have been about the same nothing is going to tie in with that roof line any better than the next idea. Let the Rooofers worry about it they are good at what they do :whistling

A person could have cut into the roof framing,flashed tied into the shingles that kinda thing but all and all if the Wallet likes it I love it.

Intersting, this is the second rebar rail detail I have seen latley. J.