OK, so despite the 95-100 degree temps this weekend, I got one of my projects completed. I lost 8 lbs in 3 days between this and some other home improvements, probably 5 of that was just water from sweating.. But I am happy with the results.
Project: Shade for the west side of my deck.
I have several trees in my back yard which provide nice shade pretty much all day, at least right up until about 6 pm until about 8 pm. That afternoon sun drops below the neighbor's tree and there is a gap until the neighbor's house takes over in blocking the sun. Unfortunately this happens right around the time I like to have dinner out there, and half the people at the table get blasted in the face and the other half get sunburned on their neck. I don't know if it is the pollution free skies around here or the higher elevation, but the sun just seems so intense here.. We don't have a lot of humidity, but 100 degree days in the summer are common despite the elevation and latitude.
Anyway, on top of this, I have some asshat neighbors that have those super bright halogen spots in their garage light and they have it angled so it comes right up the alley and lights up my backyard like a prison searchlight. When we are sitting in the backyard trying to enjoy some beers and good company in the evening, we have to put up with the harsh light coming from a half block away. While one of my friends has gone over and used a dumpster to climb up and unscrew the bulb twice now, I figured a more permanent solution was needed. This guy is an old coot who believes it is his right to light up about 4 blocks of the neighborhood with his million candlepower lights. Since I could probably get in trouble for shooting them out with a .22 (although after some beers it is a tempting proposition), this shade is a much better solution.
So on to the pics:
First, I took up 4 rows of the decking and started putting in 10 foot 4x4's. They run just about 8'6" tall above the deck. I ended up with redwood because the treated stuff at Home Depot was crap and had been picked through pretty thoroughly. It cost a little more, but I can stain it up sooner and it was easier to work with. Nice straight grain too so I am confident it won't twist or bow. I have some treated fence posts that look like they defy the laws of physics after they dried out.. So here are some shots of the bracing. I braced them in two directions after securing them to the joists in the deck.
That last one was a bear. Even after measuring like 7 times, I somehow ended up missing by 1.5" and landed it square on a joist. So I cut the joist off, put in my cross brace, and did it that way. Unfortunately, that 4x4 was very wet, so it weighed about 100 lbs. Then once I got it in place, I realized the joist was in the way of the stove bolts, so I had to drill new holes at an angle. Eventually I got it solid but it was tough and I pushed my right hand way too far in doing it. It is still pretty sore today.
Here are shots after the 3 4x4's are up, and then after the decking was cut and put back down.
While working, the GF was taking pics of me that were unappealing (sweating, bending over, etc.) so I got her back by snapping some pics while she was sweeping up, lol. No makeup, no hair done, etc.. she was like "Are you f'n kidding me?"
OK, just to make it fair, here is one of the pics she snapped of me sitting down hunched over notching out the decking:
After the posts were up, I simply capped them with a 2x6 and 2x8, cut a detail into the ends to match the other details on the deck, and hung the sun shades. I went with crank controlled roll up shades made by Coolaroo. 8 foot by 8 foot on Amazon for $69 each (free 2 day shipping with Prime of course). I looked at other options, but these fit exactly what I wanted. I went with the medium fabric so it shades nicely but still allows some light to pass. The color matches my house well and works well with the gray and red on the deck and woodwork/fence. The gazebo and these posts will be stained later this season to match the fence, which is a little darker red color. Here are pics of the finished product:
The shades come with bungies to tie them on bottom, and hooks for the bungies to snap into. This keeps them from waving so much in the wind.
Finished this Saturday, took about 8 hours total (mostly working solo, little help from the GF. My son was out of town). Total cost was just over $300. The redwood 4x4's, 2x6's, and 2x8's along with the galvanized stove bolts (12 total used) cost around $170. The shades were about $140. I could have saved about $50 if I had used the treated lumber instead of redwood. I had also considered using chain link fence posts and hardware, which would have been fairly cheap, but in the end the wood was easier and matches the rest very well. I might have been able to save a little on the shades if I had used just a roll of the shade fabric like I originally intended, but the roll up hardware was not terribly expensive and works really well for what I wanted. Overall I am very happy with the results.
On Sunday I went on a spree and bought all new ceiling fans for my rooms (4 total), as well as some other things I have been meaning to get to for a while. The fans in the upstairs bedrooms were all 25+ years old and were super cheap to start with, and the one in my basement master was too big for the 7 foot ceiling, so I got a low profile for it. I spent about 6 hours yesterday hanging fans and getting my spare bedroom finished off (got guests coming tomorrow). It will be over 100 degrees today, but between the shade on the deck and the fans in the rooms, everything is a little more comfortable.
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Topic: The Summer of Chuff 2015 (Read 143364 times)
