I had the day off yesterday - the weather was great. I was able to get the roof deck on the patio and some stone laid around the post bases. Here is a picture of the roof deck:
It obviously takes longer to lay a solid wood as opposed to plywood roof deck - but this picture shows why it's worth it.
I decided to go with straight 2x6's as opposed to tongue-and-groove roof deck. The cost is significantly lower, but it takes a bit more planning and work. The look is slightly more rustic than T&G, and fits in well with the changes we are going to make to the exterior of the house.
A 10' 2x6 costs $2.50 right now, while T&G costs $11. The difference here was $100 vs. $440.
T&G can span quite a distance (at least 4'), but this would probably not worked well for 2x6. I made the spacing between the the rafters 32" - which took two additional pieces ($11 each). As noted in an earlier post, I like the look of this better anyway.
I did have to sort through the pile to get the good boards, but I always do this anyway. We stained the sides of the boards without the mill marks (ink stamps) while they were on the ground. This highlighted a few bad areas, which I cut out.
Is it going to be strong enough? No problem - you can put 1/2" OSB on 24" centers with little metal clips to help strengthen the joints where the pieces come together. This is 5x to 10x (my guess) stronger.
What about the small gaps between the boards? With black roofing felt on top of the deck, you won't notice any gaps. I did make sure they boards were tight together before nailing. They may shrink a little over time, but I don't think it will be significant.
The picture above shows the block bases I built around the posts. These are about 2 1/2 feet high. I used brick to bring them up to the right height, and make a solid base to mud the caps to.
Here is one of the posts with the stone applied. I did the same general pattern as I did on the fire pit, so it would all tie together. I plan on capping these off with 2" thick tumbled pavers to make a flat surface for drinks, etc.
Once the caps are on, I will build out the posts to about 8x8 to give them the right proportions.
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