95% complete. The 9th hole was 98% shale, of course, and I'm still chipping away at it slowly - about 2" to go overall. Luckily my neighbor provided some much needed shovel support, else I would have probably not gotten quite as far, to say the least.
The whole without dirt... just "solid" shale/sandstone rock. Ting, chink, clang... still going. I need the energizer bunny to lossen some of it up.
Footings inspection is tomorrow. ;)
Herndon, VA‑ Well, it has been ten years and I have been talking about a deck for almost that long.
So, last week I pulled up a deck plan from the local home improvement company and went to the county to pull the permit. The deck will be 12x18' and will be one step above grade at the grass to make it a walk off platform.
18" from the garage will put the deck in fairly tight to the hill, which should give the deck a sense of closeness with nature.
The deck will be almost level with the back door, so entry and exit will not require a step.
There will be no railings since the deck is less than 30" above grade. The deck is free standing, which avoids using ledger boards.
The county requires a 24" deep footings made out of concrete (16x16) that has to be at least 8 inches thick. All deck posts must be 6x6xX, notched at the top to attach the beams, which will be 2 2x8x12s nailed together. There will be 3 beams. The only issue right now is the requirement that the footings be as deep as the existing the foundation. I have not found the garage footing level, but the addition is only down to 24", so I am going with that for now.
The footing holes have to be inspected before I can pour the concrete so I am working diligently to get past that hurdle. I dug 5 of the 9 holes I need yesterday. I went out and bought the beams, posts and cement attachment hardware last night. I'll purchase the cement once the first inspection is complete.
Here are some pictures of the work so far.
Lots of clay... mostly.
Another angle - 1,2,3,4,5... 4 to go.
How low can you go - no sign of the foundation footer at almost 30" below grade... ugh.
Clay would have been nice - I chipped at shale for 2.5 hours....
Only to find, of course, a rock that is right in the way. (If you look closely, there is a spider playing king of the hill in the photo. Note the jagged texture of the sides instead of the smooth walls clay exhibits. Well, time to go finish the next phase, assuming my arms still work.
