(I couldn't find the "what are you fixin today" thread)
Background: The second story was apparently built without a permit or inspection by the PO. That's a tangent in itself. My second-gen experienced builder said "I'm scared" when working on it. And there was a lot of work. He did many things very well. But some not so well.
The upstairs porch is the cantilevered floor joists and originally floated. The original railing was easily kicked over during demo. It was super sketchy. I wanted corners made of strong 4x4 going from ground all the way up. The only problem was the base was not well prepped and eventually settled and sank. And that pulled the cantilever porch down with it.
I noticed the sliding door frame gaps were bowed in the winter which meant the wall was flexing under load. Some occasional creaking and popping sounds upstairs from the walls on either side of the porch. The previous work was a long time ago and any settling should have resolved. Walking outside on the deck felt like going downhill especially this year.
There is a 1" drop next to the house and probably 3.5" total.
I've got a laser level somewhere but just eyeballed it.
Tips:
-Use a rip saw blade for big cuts. Fine blades only make smoke and burnt wood.
-Have quality long sawzall blades (both wood and metal) because you will need them.
-Have all your outdoor rated fasteners purchased in advance instead of reusing old screws.
-If a bolt is stuck, a little jacking might make it easy to remove. Conversely, release jack if it's stuck. lol.
Black C-plates covers the splices and prevents side movement in three directions. They don't look too bad but they were the only thing the store carried.
The original stub posts on the right were not even touching before. They were bolted with an inch air gap which doesn't support anything.
There is still a 1" bow in the center from these two sinking posts at the front.
There is only one single post in the center of the whole deck! (With no bracing to the edges).
And to think those three posts once held up six to eight adults at a party....
There needs to be more and sitting on concrete sono-tubes.
The stair will also need to be lifted to height but taken off first. There originally was a 2x4 thingy there before so I built these. Today was about 70deg but after tomorrow it drops down into 40-50deg Michigan fall weather. Not enough time for a complete rebuild. One corner still needs to come up 3.5" total but I at least squeezed 2" in there for now. I will re-do in the spring but at least it's better for now. Much less bounce and feels flat.
