Fixin' The Deck Part 17

The last post was focused on preparations for re-installing the perimeter railings, most of which was accomplished right after new year. While all that work was going on I was also looking into a suitable coating to apply to the deck and I decided to go with a "liquid membrane" from Semco. It's a big commitment, so I made a small mockup of the deck from some scrap boards and ordered a pint of the coating:

The material is mid-gray when wet, but dries "slate brown."

 

One half of the mockup got two coats, and then the whole thing was left out on the deck for two weeks while it was mostly raining.

Soon after that we made the decision to go with the Semco product and I ordered a five (5) gallon bucket. I wasn't sure whether to "paint" the deck surface first or install the railings. Applying the coating would be easier without railings to work around and/or splash, but then I would be forced to spend ages walking all over the new surface while I rebuild the railings. The compromise was to apply the coating to a strip about three feet wide at the perimeter. The coating is very similar to the original color of the deck boards:

The perimeter of the deck has moved slightly, but the railings will be going back in (hopefully) the original positions - I took detailed measurements and marked the components as they were dismantled. The one post that we did not remove holds up the roof above the rear of the deck. The sleeve cannot be slid over this post either; it has to be glued and pinned in place: 

I used an empty post sleeve and the railing parts to position the second post which took a little bit of finagling. I also figured out the spot for the post at the front left corner of the deck:

Once I was happy with both locations, I made a template out of cardboard which fits over the post sleeve. The sleeve has a square 5" x 5" footprint and is designed to fit over a (nominal) 4" x 4" timber post:

The second part of the template is a 5" square piece of plywood with a 1/8" hole drilled at the center. When placed together, the center point of the post may be determined accurately.

I put screws at the center of both posts and used an old-fashioned string line and a tape measure to locate the centers of all the intermediate posts; it was too sunny to use the laser.

I used the same method for the other long side of the deck and the short sections of railings at the stairs and next to the exterior doors. Time to drill some holes! After removing each placement screw, I bored a 5/8" hole through the plastic deck board with a spade bit. This hole was extended into the framing/blocking below about another inch or so with a regular 1/2 inch drill bit:

It took a couple of goes to establish my post bracket installation protocol. It goes like this:

1. Center the bracket over the hole in the deck, center the cardboard template around the bracket, and tape in place - the hole in the bracket is not circular, which can be helpful in the event that hole(s) are bored off-line.

2. Apply a liberal amount of caulk to the underside of the bracket:

3. Do the same with the bearing plate:

4. Install a 5/8" wide and 5-1/2 long lag bolt and crank down. The caulk under the bracket makes it slide around when the bolt is tightened; the cardboard template helps re-locate the precise position. Additional caulk is then applied around the base of the bracket, around the bearing plate and over the bolt head:

The post bracket comes with a cap which snaps over the bearing plate and provides a solid foundation for the timber post. The cap is designed to let water out so does not need to be caulked. 

All brackets set:

All the timber posts were replaced with PT lumber and are mounted to the brackets with twelve (12) wood screws.:

First section of railings re-installed: 

I worked my way to the front left corner and halfway across the driveway side of the deck. I am deliberately not installing the rest of the railings just yet. Stay tuned to find out why!