Building A Simple Deck: Cost $200, and 6 Hours of My Own (Leisurely) Labor

in diy •  6 years ago  (edited)

Screen Shot 2018-11-11 at 6.12.21 PM.jpg

I woke up and thought, "I should build a deck today!" So, I sketched it on paper to figure out how many boards I needed. I wanted it 6x16 feet. I bought 13 2x6x16' boards, and 3 12' 4x4s. I cut the 4x4s in half, and laid them down as a foundation, to nail the 2x6 boards onto. (I used 3.5 inch galvanized spiral deck nails.)

Since I was using 2x6s, I could space the joist 4x4s farther apart. It all came together fast, and looks GREAT. The only trouble I ran into was overloading the roof rack on my Subaru, while transporting the lumber. (I bent one crossbar.)

I thought I would go to a pick-it-yourself junkyard for a replacement, and then I thought, "why not try to straighten it, since I have nothing to lose." So, I took it off and stuck one end under my cabin foundation, and pulled up. Tada! It looks perfect, but I know it has been weakened, so I still need to replace it, eventually.

See Ya!

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Neat deck! I always wondered if I could manage to build one myself. Starting with a small one would probably be a good idea. I am very far away from being a handy man.
But right now I don't even have the property to be thinking about something like that. All dreams for now :P

Thank you! This deck is really simple, and hard to mess up. I am not really a handy man either, but most of my projects turn out pretty good. My cabin is really small, so I use the outdoors as my living room.

Keep dreaming.... I had a dream of getting my own land to experiment with off grid, back to the land, living for several years. It finally became a reality. I hope it does for you too, if that is what you want.

I have been able to build my own place, all by myself, grow some organic veggies, watch the stars, and listen to Whippoorwills at night.