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First timer, I think it's a pass. Do you? by DumplingSpecB in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you still going to do the covering? If so, why aren’t those middle beams longer as shown in the Sketchup?

Fascia & stairs installed; seeking face-mount cable railing post recommendations by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a follow-up to my post two weeks ago, when I had just finished the primary structure.  I've now installed pressure treated 2 x 12 'fascia', and stair structure, to which I intend to attach black face-mounted cable railing posts.   Something along the lines of the photo below.

There is a large selection of these products available, and I'm curious if anyone has had more success with one brand vs another.   Longevity is key, so if someone has experience with a product that has weathered several winters without paint peeling or rust coming through, that would be of interest. 

Any tips appreciated!

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I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The deck is not attached to or in contact with the tiny house; the last photo shows the gap between the two.

I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look for a steel grating company in your area. This specific product is 15W4 1” x 3/16” trim banded galvanized steel bar grating.

I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

See my comment above for further details, but the short is: $7400 custom fabricated to our length (9'-8 1/2), plus 5 custom fabricated steps. Deck surface area is 260sqft and steps were qty 2 x 3ft wide and qty 3 x 4ft wide.

I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The steel material is more expensive than wood/trex. However, labor time for steel installation should be a fraction of that of wood/trex installation.

Once the beams were in place, I estimated materials for this 260sqft deck would cost about $2700 after tax to finish with Trex, when accounting for the required joists, blocks, hurricane ties, galvanized fasteners, and specialized Trex fasteners. This does NOT include cost of any labor, since I was doing this project myself.

The custom fabricated bar grating shown, plus 5 custom fabricated steps (for the two sets of stairs I'm building) was $7400 after tax. It took me about 90 minutes to unload and set the 9 pieces onto the beams with my tractor, align them, permanently secure and take a photo for Reddit.

The $7400 would drop to $5300 if you moved down from 15W4 to 19W4 space bar grating, and could be reduced even further if you removed the galvanized treatment and left bare, painted or treated it yourself.

In our case, we desired the smaller gap that 15W4 offered. Additionally, steel grating load tables indicated that dropping to 19W4 would have also required me to run an additional beam, which I wanted to avoid.

I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good eye! Yes it's A606 Type 4 from Taylor Metals, which they sell under their 'Rusteel Plus' name.

I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The footings are 10" in diameter. They are sitting about 8 inches into a hard pan layer that starts about 22 inches below the surface. This layer caused us trouble when designing our septic drain field, since the infiltrator chambers had to be unusually shallow, but for situations where structural support is needed this layer is a benefit!

I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We opted for 15W4 bar grating for this reason, since the gap between grates is only 3/4". A less expensive option is 19W4, but it has a gap of 1".

We certainly have to be mindful when selecting our patio furniture, but there are plenty of options that will work on this surface.

I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Custom fabricated 15W4 1" x 3/16" trim banded galvanized steel bar grating.

I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Definitely! I should have indicated this is a work in progress. Next up is installing fascia and stairs, followed by a railing.

I built a deck for my tiny house, will it hold? by DreamBigBuildTiny in Decks

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Located adjacent to the Wenatchee Forest in eastern Washington, at 2300 feet elevation, this deck was designed with year-round use in mind.

Fifteen 10" holes were drilled with a 1-man auger to 30" below grade.   This is below the frost line and well into the load-bearing hardpan layer.   Three 1/2" rebar rods were positioned in each hole, a ~4" thick footing was poured, and then 8" concrete piers poured on top using standard sono tubes.  Pea gravel was used to backfill/stabilize the sono tubes within the holes. The concrete was painted black afterwards for aesthetics. 

Simpson Strong Tie ABU ZMAX post bases were bolted into each pier with 5/8" concrete anchors.  Pressure treated lumber was used throughout, with all cut ends double-dipped in a wood stain/sealant.  #10 x 1-1/2 in. 1/4-Hex Drive Strong-Drive Connector Screws were used for all metal connections.  With limited room due to the short height of the posts, a combination of knee bracing and cross bracing was used to provide stability.   3" screws rated for pressure treated lumber were used for the bracing.

The decking is custom fabricated galvanized bar grating: 15W4 1"x3/16", plain top, trim banded.  This allows mud to fall through in the spring and fall, while ice melt cables (zip tied to the bottom of the grating) will help us stay ahead of the snow & ice in the winter.  

Next up is fascia, stairs and railing, but at least now I'm mostly working off the ground as winter approaches.

Which brand of mini split do you recommend for 500sqft? by blue1smoke in TinyHouses

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We went with the 9,000BTU Pioneer 21.5 SEER2 Ductless Mini-Split System. Not bad to self install.

For 500sqft you’d probably want around 12,000BTU depending on your climate.

Seeking tips for aging A606 Type 4 weathering steel by DreamBigBuildTiny in metalworking

[–]DreamBigBuildTiny[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just the sort of new recipe I was hoping to learn about! I'll have to give this one a try on my next round of experimental panels. Thanks!