We tried something INSANE on this deck build

He likes to do them like that. And a search charge means you either are holding up a hill behind it or you're holding up the pressure and weight of a structure. So it's not a gravity wall. That's what stopped us. That is >> Hey, did you know you put that in there? >> He thought he was being funny. [Music] Good. Some people's birds. Good morning, one and all. Okay, we've got an especially challenging site. This is part two. We started part one just explaining the process of how we do this. Part two is about showing you the deck that we're building to complement part one. This is a design build series, meaning that we've got a challenging site to work on and we're trying to incorporate the elements together, designing it as we're building it. That's what design build means. So if you ever hear that term, think carefully as a customer because the interpretation of the design build has to be in the customer's hands along with the contractor. It can't just be left up to one or the other because the vision has to be shared. Now, in this particular case, we're going to be building. We've got this terrible area down here. Um, and we talked about the sauna. We showed you the sauna. The sauna is the centerpiece of this design build of landscaping. And the sauna is probably going to go here. And you can see that there is no sauna there right now because that's the last element that will get moved in. We're going to build the deck to gain access to it. Now, the thing that we're doing with the deck, which is different than what you're going to see with any other deck, is how we build this. There's going to be some things in this video that you should not absolutely do. So, before we get into that, let's just start building this deck and then I'm going to come back to this and show you exactly what we are doing that you better not do ever if you're on a site. hey, hey. [Music] Hey. Hey. Hey. [Music] You have to try to have to >> cave in that spot, you know, to keep caving it in, I guess. >> All right. Well, you got the smart end. >> Okay. >> Don't get your fingers in there holding buckets. That's going to be fun. Ready? >> Yeah. All right, let's point something out. This deck is not getting attached to the house. So, it's floating completely separate. If we were attaching this deck to the house, it would completely change the game. Frost footings would be required. Now, we're still installing frost footings, even though the deck isn't going to be attached to anything. It's its own entity. But we don't have to put in frost footings. We could put this deck on uh just blocks and let it float. But in this case, we're going to be digging it down and putting in rock solid footings for it. [Music] [Applause] And we'll leave that. >> We leave that out in case we need it. >> In case we do go Yeah. One back here or whatever. >> That's what stopped us. >> That is >> Hey, did you know you put that in there? >> Yeah, one of my guys put that in there. He thought he was being funny. Um, okay. That's the earthquake augur and that has the kickstand adapter to it. So, it could be a oneperson job, but not when it's tight like this. >> Yeah. Well, not when it's tight like this, too. >> Like that kickstand actually does work pretty good. Have you tried it with the kickstand? It's like I had the guy who brought it over for us to demo, you know, go right there, rockiest, worst part of the ground, dig it with one hand in the air. >> Really? >> Yep. It actually worked that good. >> Oh, wow. >> Then you got multiple uh augers, too. You got 10 in, 8 in, and a 12 in. >> I don't know. I don't know. >> A six 6 8 10, >> but it works. That's what is this? >> Earthquake. >> Yeah. Pretty good. Pretty good piece of equipment, I'd say. We don't sell them at the Dirt Monkey shop or nothing. Nope. >> Just a good piece of equipment. And they're local, too. >> That's good. >> All right, guys. Let's explain the project. First and foremost, this is a set of steps that matches up that set of stairs over there. And although structurally they're perfectly fine, aesthetically they've they need to be updated. They need to be something needs to happen. And we'll address this zone in another time, but this is just what it our starting goal looks like over here. We wanted something that is a lot more user friendly to get from one point to the other point. And we needed an update. We needed a fresh look on this landscaping. So, instead of rebuilding these stairs, which we absolutely could, we're going to build right over the top of them. If we were doing it for a customer, we would absolutely be removing this because unless we built it, we wouldn't know how this wall was built. Never rely on somebody else's work to support your work long term because if their work has an issue then your work will fail. Now in this case I built these walls 20 plus years ago using an very experimental method to do it. And the reason I say uh it's very experimental. And the reason I did it is because as a landscaper, I kept getting myself into these situations where I had customers that wanted taller retaining walls like this that needed geogrid reinforcement but didn't have room for it. And this was both on residential and commercial projects. And so technically, how do you build that and confidently as a contractor put your name behind it? Now, they'll never engineer a retaining wall doing what I did, but I had to do what I had to do. So, if I ever got myself in a situation, I knew from an experienced standpoint what works and I could actually show and prove. Now, this wall at its highest point is 7 foot tall and there is zero reinforcement and it holds up a deck there and it holds up a secondary deck as well. So, it has what's called a sirch charge on it. And a sir charge means you either are holding up a hill behind it or you're holding up the pressure and weight of a structure. So, it's not a gravity wall. So to compensate for this, I did quite a few extraordinary things during the construction of this wall to compensate for that, which I'm not going into detail because you'll find none of them on an engineering plan. Now, if a customer wants me to do something, I know what I can do confidently and I can show them the work because when you look at this wall is it may not be the prettiest right now, but structurally this wall has not moved in 20 plus years. Taking that into consideration, I have a set of steps here. And when I did these set of steps, I built what's called a double pyramid. So these steps aren't just cut into the slope. The slope is was completely removed. And this entire thing is filled up with block from top to bottom. It's pretty much bulletproof. And knowing the amount of block, knowing the amount of materials I have in there, I'm going to actually use my stairs as the support structure for my deck. And yeah, you should never do that. This is where it's okay to experiment. If this fails, it fails at my property. And I know to never duplicate these results for somebody else. But if this succeeds, then I have that little bit of extra knowledge that I can take into other projects. And it may not be verbatim, but it may just be enough that allows me to get myself into and out of situations that otherwise may be difficult at best. So, we're you're going to watch us today. We're going to build this deck on top of this retaining wall. It's going to sit right on it. It's going to rest right on it. They're going to be married together. So, let's just keep this one going. I turn a corner. I looked the other way and Frankie got half the depth down. >> I didn't know you were framing the lower part, Frankie. >> Huh? >> I didn't know you were framing No. Well, that's not the lower part. The back part. >> Oh, yeah. I >> Did you already get that hole in? You already got that in. You got that one in. >> Got one more to drill. >> One more to drill. >> Yeah. I wanted to get that. You know, I can come out 10 ft there and get us a little bit more past that wall. It would help probably, huh? I got the extra wood. >> Go for it. We can get longer pieces if that helps more, too. >> No, no, no. Well, see what I'm going to do once that 10 foot comes out. Now, wherever that corner is, that corner, that's where they're going to meet. You know, then then the board goes at an angle. >> And then are we going to have the ability to connect a >> Well, they'll be it'll be straight to the house that way then. Wherever I wherever I know 10 ft out, then it goes straight. It goes parallel with this back to the house and then that along the house. >> Okay. >> So, this wall here. So, this wall here will be straight >> cuz we don't need a very wide spot, but we need it wide enough that if if we're going to do that um well that Yeah, I could come out. Ah, I can't come out really. I could probably maybe come out one more and then put the angle on it from from that point. It wouldn't be much of an angle because I wasn't thinking about putting the steps on the angle part. >> You're thinking about putting the steps on it? >> On the angle part? Yeah. >> Yeah. Okay. >> Cuz then it'll come down so far a deck >> and then back or or whatever or then or straight out. >> Okay. But that one there, I got to put two more boards on. But then that one's ready for >> decking. >> Decking. Yeah. I got I got it. The center's all screwed on. Everything's Everything's screwed on. She should be all squared up. yeah, maybe I should just keep it at 8 feet. Is that Yeah, that's wide enough for a bridge right there, ain't it? >> From here to the house. >> Pretty skinny. What do you think that is? 3 foot. I'm guessing that would be wide enough. >> 30 in. You only want one person crossing, you know. >> Yeah. You don't need to have a >> And and when you're crossing, you're going to have to You're going to want to hang on to the side. >> Both sides. You don't want it too wide, >> right? >> Okay. If we do it. >> Yeah. Well, we say if we're we're not >> Well, I mean, even if you put it up there for looks, it look it would look kind of neat. >> It would look kind of neat, but we need something that functions, too. So, >> right. >> But we'll what we'll do is we'll get this deck built with that in mind. But then once we have that done, we'll look at the aesthetics of this >> cuz we're also doing something different with the handrails. That's not going to be normal either because we can't be normal. >> We don't build very many normal things, do we? >> No. But that's what keeps us coming back for more. >> So if we come with the steps here, >> you know, you also could go with the steps starting right inside the middle of the deck. >> Cut a hole right in the deck. >> Yeah. >> And have it start to go down. >> But it's not a very big deck. So that would take up deck space. It's already not a very big deck. >> Well, it's 12 by 20 or 10 by 12 here. >> Yeah. And this one, if it was square, it's 8 by 10. >> Yeah, it's a good amount. But >> we'll figure out what we're going to do with these steps after we get the deck on place cuz we could always do a PL uh steps down platform. >> Yep. >> Different ways to hide that. All right, let's just see how the design build is going for us. So, here's a top down view. We'll go around the side and show you what that looks like from the side as well. >> Hey, now you want to hold me on the short side? >> Sure. Turning out bigger than we both thought, isn't it, Frankie? >> Yeah, >> that's all right. Where are we going? >> Short side now. On this side. >> Oh, okay. So, we're doing the outside. >> Double framing. Hold on. Let me get it right there. Before we can do the decking, we've got to get all of the double framing on this on the outside. One of the details that Frankie likes to do, He built lots of decks and never had any problems. But let's go below and show you what we've got cooking. This is where I said you're going to get to see where I said don't do this. Don't build your work off somebody else's work. Well, this is all my work on my work. So, you can see where we put the actual framing on top of my retaining wall. It's centered back so that it's actually on it. Now, there's concrete below this pallets of concrete below these stairs. So, there's a solid that's a that's as solid of a foundation as you're going to get below that. Now, we've got to clean all this up and we're going to figure out what where we're going to come down with the steps. We don't have that planned out yet. Of course, that would be thinking too far ahead. We know there's going to be steps. So, give us credit for that. We just don't know where. this way and then maybe angle down or something. We don't even have the uh sauna figured out yet, but we will. We will. That's what happens when you get to work on your own. You get to do it as you go, the way you want. Makes it more fun. Design build is fun. You're building your dream. It's all right if you hire a designer and build their dream. They've got experience. They know what they're doing. you're following a plan, it's going to work out. You know, it's going to look good. But if it's your house, have fun with it. That's all we're doing is having fun. [Music] So, in this case, we divide and conquer. So, while Frankie focuses his energy and effort on building that deck, I'm concentrating on laying out the landscaping and getting things set for the next phases coming up. [Music] [Applause] [Music] >> I think he does. All right. So, we've made some very critical changes. >> Boss is out. Boss just left. Boss is leaving. Bye, boss. >> Bye. >> So, we don't make any decisions without asking her first. We had the steps coming down this way to land on the sidewalk. Frankie didn't like it and I didn't like it. And it just didn't feel quite right, did it, Frankie? >> No. No. >> And then it got vetoed. And then she suggested we come out this way to make it more purpose driven toward the sauna, which works for me. Now, we're going to be using green tree, of course, and then we're using three stringers. We're going 36 in wide. And the by having a straight set of steps, cuz we were talking about doing an angled set of steps, we've eliminated the need to build a platform and put a railing around it. Just so many steps. So so much easier. And this is uh just makes life easier. So if she's happy with it, we're happy with it. We'll get her done. And we got this area cleaned up. I know this is a different video. This is the sauna video, but we got that laid in today. That was awesome to have that laid in because having that put in place allows us to start to line up all the other things and start to give us time to envision how we want to come off and what we want to do in the front cuz that's huge. But we'll watch Frankie build some stairs and I'll be working over on this side. So, you may see me running some equipment every now and then, but while he's doing one thing, I'll do another. All right, guys. We've got the deck all down. We're a little bit ahead of schedule. Um, one of the things that Frankie is pretty adamant about is making sure that it is screwed off on every single hanger. We We don't skip a beat. It's wherever we have a joist hanger or where we have a joist, we screw them all. And I missed frame uh filming putting in the joist hangers, but it is what it is. Now, it comes time to the where it's important is the looks. Now, this stuff, they don't know me. They don't pay me. They've They should. They absolutely should. I covered this house years ago in a product called Cabbitts and it was it lasted two seasons before I had to strip this house down and start over again. This product used to be called Sickens. S I K E Ns. I covered this same house in Sickens. We're going on almost 15 years and that's what it looks like. Unreal how much better Sickens is than Cabbats. Unreal. >> Open up the gate. I'll take you back. >> What's that? >> You want to open the gate? I'll take that drive. >> Okay, I'll be right down. So, I'm going to start staining. We're fighting the weather. I got to go open up the gate for Frankie and then off we go to the race. The weather guy totally screwed me on this one. So, we were supposed to maybe have some rain and then I checked the forecast and it's all clear. We're not getting any rain. It's going to be beautiful out. It's skies are going to get out. The sun comes out. It turns out to be about 95°. Super humid. Perfect to get this job done. And then as soon as I'm finished with this, it starts raining. And it does not stop raining for 2 and 1/2 days. I can't make this up. It was supposed to be clear. Heat. [Music] So, right after I got done staining this, 4 hours later, not predicted on the weather. It stormed and it rained for days. That whole night, the next day, and into the next day, 4 hours. Is it still sticky? >> Not really. The shiny spots, some are a little bit, but it's drying. >> Now, it's been how many days since I finished it? Well, it's Tuesday. >> Tuesday today. So, it was Friday. So, yeah. Still can't really >> Monday, Tuesday, four days, five days. >> Can't really walk on it because of that storm coming through. And I mean, I'm hoping it cures, but now look at it. You can see where it didn't soak in all the way right around some knot holes and things like that. >> Yeah, but I don't think you can. You said you can't double coat it, right? >> According to them, you can't. But I don't know if I want to live with it like that. I may just go do what I want to do. It's my deck. >> Yeah. And if that makes it finish out better, I think that's what we got to do. But we'll try it. We'll just experiment with it. What they're saying is is if you double coat it, the bottom coat will release. The top coat will release from the bottom the second coat, but it'll peel it with it. It does sound kind of nasty. All right, Frankie. We're using cedar posts. This was uh these posts were 700. How much was it? $7 or $26 for five pieces of wood. Five pieces of wood. >> Five pieces of wood and that box of legs >> and one box of screws. Yep. Leg screws. >> Box of legs. >> But we're putting big legs in and black so they they look decent. Here's your your railings are going to be right here. And then we're using that oak that you seen him sanding on. We've got that all staged down there. Frankie, we're going to use two 8 by8s for the uh the sauna, right? or two of the >> two of them green treats. Yes, >> two of them two of them big green treats. I'm gonna peel them back and get them kind of laid out and start to level them out. >> Oh, okay. All right. You want some help? >> No. >> Okay. >> You just do you. You got enough to do. I can do me. Oh, this is the deck video. While he's doing the deck video, I'm doing the sauna video. And this is where I'm at with the sauna so far. Looking good, right? You got to break an egg to make an omelette. So, it always looks worse before it begins to look better. [Music] Now, the entire deck is made out of green tree, but we're feeder wrapping it so it looks better. [Music] Hey. [Music] Hey. Hey. [Music] Hey, [Music] hey, hey. [Music] Okay. Hey. Hey. Hey. Want me want me to shut these right away? You're just going to leave this in you for now, right? >> Yeah. >> Okay. I'll set these…