The weather has really slowed me down. Five days of temsp that never got above freezing, then rain befor that, and rain since then has only allowed me to put in 78 hours in the last three weeks. I've been able to do other things for some of my other clients to keep busy and to make a buck.
The original bid did not include the railing. I've found that clients like to get all fancy on the railing, then back off when they see what it costs. I've been working with them on various options and for awhile there, we had decided on iron panels with wood posts between them and either a finial on top of the post or a light of some kind. There was allot of deciding on the fly, and waiting until we got there to make the decicision.
When I told them that I was going to order the panels, the husband told me to hold on. He wanted to change the railing. He felt that the metal was too much and he wanted the railing to be wood. We waited until just a few weeks ago, and he decided that he wanted metal tubing from Lowes with wood on the bottom and top. I told him how much, and he said to go for it.
I modified his idea by replacing the wood posts for support, and using threaded rod through the middle of the tubing. I drilled through the deck and double nutted them on the bottom. I also cut the tubings for the railing to fit under the bottom for support.
The washers kind of stand out, but like the brackets, they will get painted brown and covered in stain to help them blend in. I can't make them disapear, but I can make them something that you wont' notice unless you are looking for them.
I used a forstner bit to drill out for the bolts on the top and then screwd it all together.
The short sections and the corner sections are very solid. The long, 15ft 6in back section has some give to it. I used 5/8's threaded rod there, as it's the biggest size that I coudl fit in the tubing. It's very tight, but with the distance being so long, it will move on you if you lean against it. It's there, but not very bad and I don't think most people wil even notice it.
I've already started on the arbor and should have it and the stairs done this week. We'er expecting another storm on Thursday, so that might be another delay. Then next week, I'm putting in a flagstone walkway. They found some oversized flagstones that are are too big to lay flat on a pallet. They are stacked on edge, and I'm still unsure how the heck I'm going to deal with getting them from being on edge, to being flat.
After the walkway is done, I'll clean all the wood, sand parts of it, and then stain it. I told them that I've never stained anything quite like this, and don't have a good idea of what it will cost them. If I do it, it's hourly. They said that it's my job, and will pay whatever it takes to do it right.
Gotta love it when you get great clients!!!!
Eddie