# Poor Retired Plumbers decking upgrade



## Coleve (Oct 31, 2012)

Hi There Fraternity,

Now as you guys/gals know there are trends, mostly seasonal, for example fashion, which every router owning craftsman such as my self knows very little about it.

Examples of trends are laminate flooring, mono block drives etc. But mine was decking, and with visions of sitting on my new deck being served G&T from my good wife inspired me. And as a self-ordained trendy sort of guy I headed down to our local wood merchant and purchased my ribbed wood and set to, and that was about ten years ago.

Now ten years on as I stand on said decking, I notice it has stood the test of time and looks in remarkable condition for its age. Why you may ask is there no wear or tear on it and well-trodden pathways.

Simple because here in the North of Scotland its bloody freezing. The sun only appears the second Sunday of August. Winter lasts from August to July. That’s why they don’t sell many Cabriolet cars in this neck of the woods. If you do happen to spot one on the roads on the second Sunday of August, the brave individual will be wearing a Balaclava, coat and scarf.

So how to I get some use out of my perfectly preserved deck.

I finally decided on an in/out set up, where three sides are enclosed and one open to the elements. The reason being that that the layout of my house and outhouses at the rear of my property are unique in that the set up causes a wind tunnel effect that sweeps directly across the decking, increasing the chill factor.

The original decking had a very good concrete base and the construction is very lightweight. The roof is industrial steel sheet with anti-condensation under coating, with a pvc hollow core ceiling.
I did not have to bother with ventilation to prevent condensation forming as there is no differential temperature variance between outside and inside.

The outside cladding is again a pvc composite with matching aluminium trims

Also purchased five dead windows (no vents or openings) and a matching door for access to the clothes drying area.

Just to give the area a lift I added matching wall and floor led’s with the deck and fencing matching paint.

Job took approx. six weeks to complete with myself and my good wife completing 100% of the work.

I have included a photo of one of my favourite tools, my Fein Supercut, the big brother of the multimaster. 400watts of grunt. it has gotten me out of so many problems it deserves a mention. 

I am not going into the actual construction details as the photos are pretty self-explanatory.

In case anyone is interested that is an almond slice sitting next to my good wife. Both my favourites.

Costs.

Steel Line roofing £710.02

Coastline external cladding £851.78

Pvc ceiling £170.75

Wood framing £340.00

Cuprinol Urban slate decking stain £60.00

Windows £550.01

Door £270.00

Fixings/construction adhesives etc. £200.00

Total Approx. £3152.56 

I would have liked to build a better one but being a poor retired plumber its all I could afford

Colin
Somewhere in Scotland not freezing his butt off


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Very nicely done, and very professional too ,I might add. Here the birds and insects would find it quite cozy too to spend the winter. Mine is fully enclosed for that reason. You are going to enjoy many hours relaxing out there.
One concern I have with the lighting is it a trip hazard? 
Herb


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

herb stoops said:


> very nicely done, and very professional too ,
> herb


for sure!!!!


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## Coleve (Oct 31, 2012)

Hi
Thanks for your kind comments. No the stainless face plates are Sloping contoured to the decking.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Very nice work Colin Even for a Poor Retired Plumber.
From a Poor Retired Soldier.

David


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Very nice work Colin Even for a Poor Retired Plumber.

David


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Excellent work, Colin...second to none...

I'm sure you will share many wonderful hours relaxing in your new space...expecially on the second Sunday in August...! :grin:


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## Flipsaw (Mar 11, 2016)

Great Work Colin ! Looks like a perfect area for relaxing .


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## thomas1389 (Jan 4, 2012)

A very nice job, Colin. Well finished. I saw no sign of snow so I'll assume that the pictures were taken on the second Sunday of August.


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## MEBCWD (Jan 14, 2012)

Great project Colin. Time for you to sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labor.


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## honesttjohn (Feb 17, 2015)

Don't know a plumber yet that retired poor!! And before the rest of us could afford to. Hope you got to do it your way without constant supervision. lol Nice job!!!


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Nice job Colin. The weather in northern Alberta where I lived for 9 years was similar. The locals said that winters lasted 9 months with 3 months of poor snowmobiling in between.


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Really nice job Colin. Looks to me as if there is room for some insulation in the ceiling, then you can close off the open end and have a lovely winter hideaway for that G&T. or coffee and whisky as the case may be. 

When we first moved here into the high desert, we had the wettest, snowy winter ever, and the house had a cheesy sunroom with plastic windows, aluminum framework and foam filled panels in between. The room was about 3 inches thick foam sandwiched between sheet metal. Hot in the summer, freezing in winter and leaked dust in with every breeze.

So I built a framework inside the outer shell, filled in some of the windows, ripped out a single pane sliding door and put in a real door. A relative put another layer of roof on it, sealing it in with a rubber overlay that he extended well up the roof to stop any chance of leaks. Bought four double pane, aftermarket windows and two sliders. Closed off all the openings without windows, and put a large evaporative cooler through one wall that cools the whole house. 

The room became my wife's art studio. Painted a nice yellow, it is bright, cheerful and warm. A few years ago we found the AC/heat ducts had split open, so we had it replaced. We'd installed a slightly oversized HV/AC unit, so we had several 6 inch vents replaced with 8 inch. One of these blows heat into the room during winter so it is comfy as heck in there no matter what the weather.

A couple of years ago, we had a workman come in and put water proofing on the bottom of the outside of the sunroom, then he installed siding and a cap to finish it off. He also redid the soffits, which paint had broken down. Looks wonderful now. 

I also have a pretty large patio area not unlike your deck space, but covered. I keep thinking about enclosing it at least with screens around it to reduce bug attacks, but we have a couple of large Bronze color lizards living there that we like. The space also creates a breezeway, nice in summer, but chilly in winter.

We think of this place as our pine box house, because that's the only way we plan to leave it. It is unlikely we will ever get back the money we dropped into it, but it is a real pleasure to live here. Wish I were in better health, Scotland is one place I would really like to visit. I have just enough miles built up to get us both there and they expire on New Years Day.


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## FatihSuth (May 12, 2021)

Hey! Great idea, the star dome structure would look really good in any garden, the sketch impressed me a lot! Bamboo is also an excellent material to use, I might try it too. Do you know what would spice it up a little bit? Fencing, maybe even bamboo fencing! It would suit the structure's material and color, plus, it would offer a nice detail that would impress anyone who came into your garden. If you need some good fencing contractors I can help, I found some amazing specialists who've met all of my crazy requirements, making my garden look better than it ever has. Feel free to contact me!


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @FatihSuth


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## marecat3 (Nov 30, 2010)

Nice


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## mgmine (Jan 16, 2012)

I missed this one when it was originally posted. I've decided to do the same thing with my slate patio to expand the living room another 14 feet. With the price of lumber today and every other building material, I'd better get it right. I'm just waiting for the weather to get a little better but it looks like that's happening starting today. So wish me luck.


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## old55 (Aug 11, 2013)

Welcome to the forum @bestfollowergrowths


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