To-day We Have Salvaging of Boards

This weekend, I got started on demolishing the hot tub platform, the weird little shelf next to the house, and the lattice "privacy screen" at the corner.

Saggy "shelf," along with the unfinished 2x4 railing put up when hot tub was removed.

There's the weird "privacy" screen and the old TV bracket like 8' above the deck

A demo contractor would crunch it all into toothpicks and charge me to haul it all away. Instead, I'm salvaging the boards, giving me a pretty good lumber yard for blocking, x-bracing, and so on. But it's tedious to say the least.

Step 1. Clear off the lumber and needles that had piled up

Step 2. Demolish the shelf and privacy screen. The long 2x8 is a 20' deck support.

Step 3. By Monday evening, all gone

The 26 5/4x4 boards used for decking under the hot tub came up pretty easily and are all reusable. Each one had (14) 8d nails that had to be pried up, pounded through, then pried out. 364 nails, but who's complaining?

The two downspouts, by the way, had 45-degree elbows at the ground, directing the water to saturate the ground under the deck against the foundation.

The hot tub was heavy--two of the 2x8 joists were replaced with 2x12s, and while the structure rests on a number of 12x12 concrete piers, they strengthened the center with some 4x4s that rest on the ground.

Not sure how I'll demolish the joists--solid blocking both sides is a challenge.

Removing the 5/4 x 4 boards taught me to pry a bunch up, pound all their nails through, turn them over and pry all their nails out. That was much faster than doing a board at a time. I think I'll go ahead and remove all the remaining decking, then tackle the framing. I had told Casey that I wanted to preserve a path from the breezeway to the basement, but we have other options for that, like temporary plywood on the deck and temp stairs from the breezeway level to the dirt.

Naming of Parts
by Henry Reed
To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday,
We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day,
To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica
Glistens like coral in all of the neighboring gardens,
And to-day we have naming of parts.

This is the lower sling swivel. And this
Is the upper sling swivel, whose use you will see,
When you are given your slings. And this is the piling swivel,
Which in your case you have not got. The branches
Hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures,
Which in our case we have not got.

This is the safety-catch, which is always released
With an easy flick of the thumb. And please do not let me
See anyone using his finger. You can do it quite easy
If you have any strength in your thumb. The blossoms
Are fragile and motionless, never letting anyone see
Any of them using their finger.

And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
They call it easing the Spring.

They call it easing the Spring: it is perfectly easy
If you have any strength in your thumb: like the bolt,
And the breech, and the cocking-piece, and the point of balance,
Which in our case we have not got; and the almond-blossom
Silent in all of the gardens and the bees going backwards and forwards,
For to-day we have naming of parts.