The Deck Overhaul, pt. 4

It's been a while since I've posted an update. Since the last one, nothing has really happened, but just today Bryan started a new project, so it's time to get it going again. When I left you last, we were in the middle of coating it with polycrylic. That was the clear coat that was intended to waterproof it. Well, it turns out that the polycrylic was water-based, so when water pooled on it for too long, it would start seeping into the finish, and we were worried it would eventually get to the paint and corrode it essentially, so we went back and found something else.

What we ended up with was oil-based polyurethane. After only 2 coats of that, it was completely water proof. Water could pool on it and nothing would happen. So after 3 more coats, bringing the total to 5, we called it good, and our table was officially complete. This is what the "table area" turned out looking like. That shot is obviously when it's folded down, and it doesn't look much different than it did before we put the clear coat on it, it's just shiny all over. As you can also see, we put up Bryan's huge Coors Light flag, and we also have a bunch of tin signs with random beers and alcohols represented. While we don't discriminate, we do have our preferences (clearly).

So, between that project and the project Bryan just started, we've used the deck a ton. We got a dartboard and have been playing the hell out of that. Then, as I mentioned last week, we got a keg, and that is where Bryan's project comes in.

He has started making a kegerator. Here's a clip from FeelyWorks.com:

My base is a 5.0 cubic foot Wood’s chest freezer, modified with a wooden collar on the top and then filled with all the gas, tubing, and fittings that are necessary to dispense the delicious nectar.

Read the whole post here. Today, he went and picked up the chest freezer that he got on Craigslist, and over the past few days he's amassed all the parts necessary to build it. All that's left is to build it. I'll keep you posted on his progress.

Today I went out and snapped a few pictures of what the deck looks like now. Keep in mind Bryan is in the process of building the kegerator and we have a keg back there in a yard debris can full of ice, plus the table and Bry's tool chest. Oh, and our meth-lab-looking blue tarp that's there to keep noise and heat in. And it's not exactly the most spacious deck, so it's a bit crowded right now. Take a look:

The Deck Overhaul, pt. 3

Well, after a few weeks of sitting there on the deck, all bare and incomplete, we decided to paint our table today. Bryan and Amanda went out to True Value, picked up some paint and some brushes, and got to work. However, it wasn't exactly that easy.

Before they did that, we had to decide how we wanted to paint it, and what we wanted to paint on it. The idea came up that we paint the new logo the Duck Shop came out with, this one:




















We all like this new logo, we have the t-shirts and everything, and it's basic colors, so we figured it was perfect. However, it's not so easy just getting this logo onto the table. We had to come up with some way to get it traceable and big enough. Well, Bryan has a big wall flag like to one above, so he took a picture of it, Photoshopped it, and made a transparency of it that we could put a light behind and shine onto the table and trace it. Seemed easy enough. First, we had to coat the surface of the table with white paint though, so that the shadows would be as dark on the surface as possible. When the paint dried, we mounted a 125w flood light to the ceiling of the deck, and I held the transparency in front of the light, as still as I could, while Amanda traced it. For as poor of a shadow as the thing made, Amanda did a great job tracing it out, I was impressed.

So after she got done tracing it out on the white surface (and just the white surface actually made it look a whole lot better), I had to hit the road because I was meeting my mom and a bunch of other family for dinner for both our birthdays (my mom and I share a birthday, if you didn't know). So, while I was at dinner, Bryan sent me a picture on my phone of the table in progress, as they were still working on it:




















WOW! I was really impressed. The tracing had obviously turned out great (all props to Amanda), because this logo looks exactly like the flag. Now, I can't attest to what they've been doing in great detail, as I haven't been there, but I will give you my assumptions. After they finished the logo (it's finished above), they painted the rest of the table black:
















As you know from the first two Deck Overhauls, we had that leaf part too that is folded down in the above picture. What were we going to do with that? We first thought we would split that logo in half, half on each leaf, but that wouldn't have worked out as well. Amanda had the idea that we put the "OREGON" like on the flag logo at the top of this post on the leaf. I left before I fould out how they were going to do it, but they did:
















The white around it is just they left over white they haven't touched up with black yet, but wow does that look great. Here's the filled in, pretty final version:
















I am impressed with all 4 of these pictures, and can't wait to get back to the house to see it for myself. Seriously, how cool is that?

I'm not sure if they're done for the night or not, and I'm not sure if we're done painting, because there was talk about the "O" logo in each corner, but we'll see. I'll update this post if I get any new pictures/information. Also, as these are cell phone pictures, when I get home tomorrow, I'll get some hi-res ones up so you can enlarge them. So keep checking back, and I'll see you next time on The Deck Overhaul.

UPDATE!
Here are the hi-res pictures. They are some of the table after it was done being painted, and some after we started to put lacquer on it. Click a picture to enlarge it.

The Deck Overhaul, pt. 2

So, it looks like it didn't take us long to get back to it. Today around noon, after our first class, Bryan and I decided that today would be a good day to get moving on the table. After all, it was pretty clear, the sun came and went, and it wasn't too cold. So, after I stopped into work, Bry and I headed to Home Depot to pick up the two surface pieces and the necessary hardware. Home Depot is a pretty good drive away, but it's the closest place that sells lumber, so it was out only choice.

So we took the trusty Ranger out and picked up an 8'x4' sheet of plywood that we had them cut into 2 8'x2' pieces (with a pretty kick ass cutting machine), 6 brackets, a couple hinges, and the necessary screws. We loaded it all into the bed of the truck and headed for home. Right as we pulled out of the Home Depot parking lot though, it started to rain. Figures. But we got home without any damage to the wood, so it didn't really matter. Here's the surfaces against the futon, for reference:
















So, pretty long, but the right size for the space where we're putting it, which is here:
















Anyways, after we got all the stuff home, it was time to get to building. First, we mounted the brackets onto the 2 beams on the wall 38" from the ground, which we determined to be a good height. They're already mounted in the above picture. Then, we got to the surfaces. We put the hinges on after chiseling some troughs so they would be flush with the surface. Here's how that looked:
















Our first accomplishment was that the hinges worked perfectly, that is, the two sides folded against each other perfectly, and when they were folded down they were flush with each other. Next, we screwed brackets on the bottom side of the surfaces for the posts, and then attached the posts:
















Originally, we didn't think the brackets were going to be strong enough, so the legs might not be able to fully support the table. We decided to try it anyway, so we flipped the table over and rested it on the brackets on the deck wall installed earlier. Turns out that, after nailing the legs to the deck floor and screwing the surface to the wall brackets, and it was surprisingly sturdy. That was our second accomplishment. So here's what it looked like after putting it up:
















Pretty nice looking right? Just like the picture. And here's how it looks with the leaf up, supported by Bryan:
















So the only things we had left to do was to put in the support beams for the leaf and we would be in business. Well, not so fast. Since the posts were so far apart, and the only thing supporting the leaf was the hinges, we got a pretty wicked bow in the surface. You can see the difference in the gaps between the two surfaces above. Look at the middle, and then look at the side.

Well, we thought we could get past it with the support beams, so we cut little blocks with Bryan's saw drill-attachment. Everything we cut was with that, and it really does a number on battery life, so we had to be patient and always keep the spare battery on the charger. It worked out though. So we just screwed wood blocks on the bottom of the leaf and the posts to act as stoppers, making sure we could fit our block of wood between them and keep the leaf level when extended. Turns out, we were exactly on, and the leaf was level. That was our third accomplishment.

But the bow didn't go away. We decided to put a 1"x3" board along the bottom of the main surface, screwed into the posts in order to lift the bow. That worked flawlessly too. Here's what the bottom looks like with all that installed:
















So, after all that, here's the finished product, with the leaf extended and nothing but itself supporting it:
















Beautiful! Exactly like the picture. The only thing we still have left to do is go get another 1"x3" for the leaf, because when it;s extended, it has a little bit of a bow, but that's an easy fix.

So the table, aside from paint and finishing, is pretty much done. It only took us about 3 hours of work, and 2 trips to the hardware store. But the most amazing thing is that it all worked out, perfectly. You know that saying, "measure twice, cut once"? Well, it didn't apply to us today. We didn't have to do anything twice, which never happens, and just to reiterate that fact, I'll give you one last picture:
















We didn't really try to get it that level or anything, but this really was the story of our day; everything worked.

Well, thanks for looking at the seemingly endless string of pictures, but like I said last time, I love doing this stuff, so you better believe I'm going to document it. That's it for this installation, and again, I'll post our progress. See you next time on The Deck Overhaul.

The Deck Overhaul, pt. 1

At our house in Eugene, we have a back deck. I'd say it's a good 20-25 sq ft, it's covered, and it's a fun place to hang out. However, over the course of this year, it has basically become a trash can. There were 2 futons out there with stuff piled on them, a few rolling chairs, and a lot of other crap we just didn't want in the house. It's essentially become unusable. Well, Bryan and I were talking about that, and we decided we were going to fix it, and we began today.

Welcome to The Deck Overhaul, pt. 1.

While we were talking about it, we came up with a few objectives:

1. We need to clear the crap. All the stuff we can throw out or take home, we're going to. Also, Bryan is going to pressure wash it over spring break to give the wood a face lift.
   
2. We want to make it usable. It's a large area relative to the space we have in the house, and we need to take advantage of that. The main use will be hanging out, so we need to make it comfortable and functional.
   
3. We want to build a table/bar out there. As we're all turning 21 soon, we'll need that.
4. We want it to be a place where we want to hang out. We want it to be a kick ass deck, and all other objectives must observe this one.
   

Now that we had a jumping off point, we got to it. Like I was saying, it was getting cluttered out there, and the biggest burden of space was the futons. We had 2, but didn't need 2, so today Bryan and I tore one up. Both of them still worked, but one had a wood frame and one had a metal frame, and since we wanted to make a table, we figured we could use the wood from one futon to build it. Here's the frame:
















The two main pieces can be used as a surface base, and the rest can be used for support like the legs. So we tore that up, and got everything we needed to build the table besides an actual surface, but for that we'll just go pick up a piece of plywood from Home Depot for $20. After that, we got a lot of the designing out of the way, a big fancy brainstorming session throwing ideas back and forth, and what we came up with is going to be cool I think.

So, to get your bearings, here's the layout of our deck now:
















I'm standing in the doorway to the house, that futon that Bryan's on is against the left wall, the wood from the futon is against the right wall, and I'm pretty close to even with the back wall. As you can see, not all that big, but we'll make it work, and here's how:

We plan to build the table on the right wall. Since we don't have much room, we're going to anchor it to the wall, and put hinges on the two surface base pieces so you can fold half of it down when you aren't using it. When we want to extend it, we'll simply use pieces of wood as supports from the leg of the table. I don't have the construction vocabulary to explain it properly, but that's alright, because I drew pictures:












Here it is anchored to the two beams we have on the deck wall, supported by 2 legs, and one half folded down on the hinges.












Here it is extended with the supports shown. I figure we attach the supports to the legs of the table with hinges as well, and put wood blocks on the end of the bottom of the leaf side surface to rest the supports on. That way, we don't have two other legs in the way, and nothing is on the table top to get in the way (the hinges of the leaf obviously being on the bottom). Then, when it's folded down, we just fold the supports back and have the leaf come down in front of them. Or, we could just put brackets on the leaf and the leg, and have the support be totally separate and then insert it into the two brackets when we want the leaf out. That isn't shown in the first picture, but hopefully you get my drift.

Anyways, that's the plan as of now. I'm excited to get to it, because I love this kind of stuff. I'm sure we'll hit it again next weekend, and I'll update you as we progress. See you next time on The Deck Overhaul.