Yoga Deck Build - Empowerment!

25 May 2018

This is really the first blog regarding my new homestead and I'm thrilled to report that the first improvement is a yoga deck!  Honestly, it was low hanging fruit, but now there is a tick free platform for picnicking, yoga, camping, etc!  Here is a little how-to tutorial for those of you that may want to install something similar.

Site Selection:
I recommend flat as possible and not in a water runoff.  Level is a deceptive concept so make sure you are being honest with yourself!  Use a level to assess drop on your site because this will become your great challenge in building this platform.  Also ponder sunlight.  Our site is predominantly shady all day.  This is critical depending on use.  If we were trying to build a deck for sunbathing, we would have failed miserably!

Site Prep:
So I have a wicked allergy to poison ivy.  That being said, I weed wacked with lots of clothes on and then copiously doused the area with Round-Up about 2 days before the build.  I'm not into heavy, scary chemicals, but I'm not into full body rashes either.  Consider long term maintenance as well.  Do you want to maintain grass around your deck?  How are you going to get to your deck?  Are there burrowing critters that want to live under your deck?

Deck Design:
Since power is still sparse on the property (although the generator in the bed of the truck is a lifesaver), we opted for a "no cut" design.  This allowed us to do the project with stock boards purchased at Lowe's with no cutting required!  Our deck sits on an 10' 4"  x 12' frame.

FRAME 

 FRAME WITH DECK BOARDS GOING ON

Materials Acquisition:
This took a full two hours because I have the deep need to assess every board for straightness, knots, cracks, splits, etc.  Trust me, it's worth your time!  Take a friend, look at every board before it goes on your cart.  There are a lot of bad boards out there and when you are paying $7 - 10 a board, it needs to be right.  Boards used outdoors should also be treated.  There is addition expense, but you get years out of it.  Here is the materials list that came out to approximately $400:

• (2) 12' 2x6
• (7) 10' 2x6
• (24) 12' Deck Boards
• 1 Lb of 3" Deck Screws
• 5 Lb of 2.5" Deck Screws
• If the deck screw heads are star shaped, the free bit that comes with it is very short.  A few extra bits can be nice. 
• (9) Deck Blocks
• Assorted pieces of block were scavenged from the property during the course of the project. 

Once you have materials, you need to have your tools lined up so you don't show up at the job short.  

• Power Drill (2x if you have 2 workers)
• Hammer
• Hand Digging Tools
• Gloves
• Level

So now you are set to build your yoga deck!  The biggest challenge is setting your foundation for the frame.  We put the blocks in their approximate positions and then began placing boards in place.  Once the boards were on the blocks, we could set the level and determine how to adjust the blocks.  This took 5 of the 6 hours of the actual build of this project.  Our "level" spot, was less than.  No worries, we prevailed and dug deeper and prevailed and dug deeper.

This is the frame for the deck.  Eventually there were deck block supports on each corner and at each midpoint.  It looks very twisted, but when the level is applied, it's level!

Close up of our corner stone that eventually had to be buried nearly to be level with the dirt.  We had a nearly 12" drop from this corner to the "low side."  

This is not level enough...

Nor is this...

That's a winner!

A good friend that you adore is the best bet for making this a positive experience.  I chose the most epic mother on the planet.  What would I do without her?!

You can see she is attaching the 10' 2x6s to the frame.  These are the pieces that the deck boards will attach to, in addition to the frame. 

All cross pieces in place and dog supervisor in place.  Note the supports under the middle of the deck.  Not completely necessary, but I feel better about hosting a square dance on this bad boy.

Sometimes when you dig into undisturbed ground, you disturb things.  This hideous creature is the trapdoor spider (shout out to my favorite biologist Tiffany who researched it for me!)  She was a bit larger than a half dollar.  Strongly in the NOPE category.  I can't fathom doing yoga knowing she is under the deck, so a very non-Buddhist thing went down. 

Once the frame is set, the cross supports are on and the world is as level as you find acceptable, it's time to start laying deck boards.  This experience is further enhanced when thunder is rolling and crashing overhead.  There is point where you want the gratification of finishing.  We hustled, jostled boards, bent boards that were crooked after all and got the deck installed.  It was worth the few minutes we laid under the trees, soaked in sweat looking at the leaves with the storm beyond them.  We hustled to pick up tools, police up the Moose dog, and as soon as we left the driveway, giant drops fell on us!

So why is this empowering?  Two of us did the design and build all by ourselves.  I called my Dad once with a question about screws, but that's not bad!  I'm proud that I was a good student for all the decks we've built before and I can't wait for yoga, picnics, laughing and napping on this tiny deck.  Tiny homestead here I come!