How to Make a Seemingly Simple Project Last Forever

[projectnut]

As many of you know I started a project of building new decking for the pier at the family cottage last fall. Things started out slow, but that was to be expected since I had all winter to complete it. I purchased a "new to me" 14" radial arm saw to cut the lumber. It needed a little work to refresh it, so that was where I started. I had to do a few electrical repairs, purchase some new blades, and add some 220-volt circuits in the recently rebuilt garage.

Once that was done it was time to purchase the lumber and get to work. I went to a local "big box" lumber yard and bought enough to make some prototypes. Things started out fine, but by the time I started assembling the deck sections I found a significant number of the boards had warped and cracked. I went back to see if I could find enough quality lumber to complete the job but found 90+% of what they had in stock was not going to work. I was going to reuse a set of jigs and spacers I'd built for a previous set of decking only to find they too had warped over time. They were beyond repair, so I threw the originals away, and made a new set.

I ended up purchasing all new lumber from a specialty lumber yard at nearly 3 times the price and went back to work. Over the last couple weeks I cut everything to size and today I started placing the components in the jig for assembly. Once again, I hit a roadblock. With all the original spacers in place it was obvious there was a problem. It seems the lumber used for the first set of deck plates was actually only 5 1/4" wide rather than the standard 5 1/2" wide.

Tomorrow I'll make some new spacers and once again attempt to start the assembly process. What was supposed to be a leisurely project is now pushing the envelope as to when it needs to be completed. The pier needs to be installed within a week so the boat can be docked when it comes out of storage. The pier also supports the water intake for the lawn irrigation system, and the "aqua thruster" that keeps weeds and debris from inundating the dock and swimming area.

Hopefully the next steps will go smoothly and all will be in place before the relatives arrive for a little summer fun.

 

[markba633csi]

Big box lumber can be frustrating to work with- warped, cracked, full of knots, off-size, etc.

 

[Nutfarmer]

We love pictures. The docks we have on the Sacramento River take a beating in the winter time with all the debris and trees floating down the river. Steel framed docks seem to hold up better than wood framed ones.

 

[pontiac428]

Part of being "handy" is that theoretically we can tackle anything. But you just described to a fine point why I avoid wood whenever possible! If my taps and fixtures warped and split from sitting in the drawer too long, I'd eat lead. There's nothing worse than coming to a screeching halt in the midst of executing a vision because something shifted on you. Good luck and may patience be on your side, friend!

 

[projectnut]

Made some progress on the pier decking yesterday. Not as much as I would have liked, but now the only thing left to do is assemble the already cut lumber into plates that can be easily handled. Along with the other chores that needed to be done we completed 5 sections. We still have 7 more to go, but now that all the bugs are worked out it should be less than a full day's work.

Here are a few pictures of the pier and the new decking. The picture of the pier is from 2017 when the little (16') pontoon boat was delivered. Since then, we have extended the pier one more section to allow the boat and kayaks to be tied up at the same time. The decking was 7 years old when this picture was taken. It's now 14 years old and has definitely seen better days.

The second picture is the quick and dirty fixture I made to assemble to new deck sections. It's just a 2" x 2" frame around half a sheet of plywood. The interior dimensions are 48' x 44-3/4". The third picture shows the spacers in place to separate the decking and align the stringers. The fourth picture is the top view of completed sections, and the last picture shows the stringers screwed and glued to the underside of the decking.

 

[David2011]

I didn’t know we needed instructions on how to make projects last forever. They seem to do that on their own. Good luck with that wood project. I’ve done very little woodworking since Baltic birch became unavailable. Would like to convert some kitchen cabinets to pull out drawers but not with the wood that’s available right now.