Memorial Weekend Project

[Exitspeed]

Three years ago the wife and I bought a "fix'er up'er" in New Berlin. We've been remodeling non-stop ever since. I finally got around to a project we wanted to do almost since we moved in; building a Arbor or Pergola.

The back of our house is ugly. We have a 3200sq ft ranch with an exposed basement and becuase of the size and design the back of the house looks like a Motel. Observe...
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1381/img7640.jpg

So I went an purchased lumber on Thur and got to crackin on Sat. PhdCamaro Dave and my cousin lent a hand.

Got the 6"X6" posts up and supported. Then the 2x8's that run between them.
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/9404/img7641.jpg

Working away.
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/7163/img7644.jpg
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3784/img7648.jpg
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/4085/img7649v.jpg

Got most of it done on Sat and then Sun I finished the 2x2 final slats on my own. Turned out awesome. It's HUGE. Had some people over yesterday and everyone was really impressed with it. Actually a few people were surprised I got such a major project done in a weekend.

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/8383/img7673.jpg
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1927/img7672.jpg
http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/1353/img7652.jpg
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/428/img7675.jpg

The wife and I are extremely happy with the results. Totally transforms the back of the house. We have to wait at least 30 days to stain it. It's gonna be a dark brown-ish color.

The next major project in the back will be a deck coming off the second floor. Next year...

[Karps TA]

That looks great. Nice job! Really does help break up the flat view of the house.

[88Nightmare]

out of curiosity, why do you have to wait 30 days to stain it?

[Holeshot]

Its not pressure treated so it needs to season
out of curiosity, why do you have to wait 30 days to stain it?

Looks really nice.

[Exitspeed]

out of curiosity, why do you have to wait 30 days to stain it?


Its not pressure treated so it needs to season

Looks really nice.

It is pressure treated. Some people say you need to wait a year before staining pressure treated, but the research I've done online says that is a myth and it can be stained after 30 days. We'll probably wait til the end of summer when it starts getting cooler to stain it. It should be fine by then.

[Holeshot]

It is pressure treated. Some people say you need to wait a year before staining pressure treated, but the research I've done online says that is a myth and it can be stained after 30 days. We'll probably wait til the end of summer when it starts getting cooler to stain it. It should be fine by then.

Sorry it looked pale. Must be the lighting. My wife would kill for that.

[88Nightmare]

better start buyin some lumber :D

[Exitspeed]

Sorry it looked pale. Must be the lighting. My wife would kill for that.

Yeah Menards SC2 Treated lumber isn't as green as some other treated stuff. My father in law said the same thing.

It was either that or cedar obviously. Cedar is realy expensive right now though. The 6x6 posts in treated were $26. In Cedar they were $66. All the lumber cost me about $270. So in cedar I would have been looking at probably $600 or so.

[Reverend Cooper]

that really looks great

[SlowMotion]

The SC2 treated lumber will hold up just as good as the cedar in the long run, and if you need to replace something, it will cost less per your comparison above. You need to wait for the treating chemicals to "dry out", if we get a good dry stretch and that area gets enough sun, a month-2 months will be sufficient time for you to stain it. Not that I am an expert, but I did work in a Menards lumber yard for 6 years :thumbsup

[CATNHAT]

Looks really nice! You will be suprised at how much sun gets blocked. And at the same time, you still get a sun tan!

[JBs92Lude]

it looks really nice, you guys did a good job on it.

[awsomeears]

3200 sq ft is a big ass house !!!

Your a/c unit is an older bryant 15-18 years old, I can't think of the model but dam that thing is rated at a low 10 SEER. Probably running near 8 SEER :stare

What the hell are your Heating and A/C bills like, I'm in the HVAC biz so thats why I'm asking.

Nice house :thumbsup

[RanJer]

Looks even better in person Mel!

[Yooformula]

wow that looks awesome!

[URLOZIN]

Looks good. My uncle and I did one up in madison for a guy and it was a real pain in the ass.

[Exitspeed]

The SC2 treated lumber will hold up just as good as the cedar in the long run, and if you need to replace something, it will cost less per your comparison above. You need to wait for the treating chemicals to "dry out", if we get a good dry stretch and that area gets enough sun, a month-2 months will be sufficient time for you to stain it. Not that I am an expert, but I did work in a Menards lumber yard for 6 years :thumbsup

Good to know. We'll wait at least a month. That is gonna be a project in it self so I'm willing to wait. I'm havin a big bash here for my 30th birthday in August. Hopefully I'll have it done by then.


3200 sq ft is a big ass house !!!

Your a/c unit is an older bryant 15-18 years old, I can't think of the model but dam that thing is rated at a low 10 SEER. Probably running near 8 SEER :stare

What the hell are your Heating and A/C bills like, I'm in the HVAC biz so thats why I'm asking.

Nice house :thumbsup

The AC unit isn't even hooked up actually. Thing is our house never had AC. We've lived here now for 3 years and we're kinda used to it. A client of my wife's is a HVAC guy and got us that unit for cheap and said it worked really well. But we decided to just hold off on AC for now and get a new unit down the road. We just had four ceiling fans installed (everything had to be ran. There were no lights in the rooms before) on Friday to provide some relief this summer.

The next big project will be a new furnace in early fall. Last winter our WE bill was $500/ month a couple of months. :punch:

I have some friends and family in the HVAC biz too that are gonna hook me up with new stuff when we're ready.


Looks good. My uncle and I did one up in madison for a guy and it was a real pain in the ass.

"Rel pain in the ass" describes it well. lol.


Thanks to everyone else for the compliments! :banana1:

[TraceDaddy]

Very nice job.

[94greenbandit]

Looks really good. Always nice to finally complete a project, step back and take a look at your achievement. Mad Props dude :thumbsup

[DirtyMax]

Nice job!

I'm not very happy with the SC2 stuff from Menards. I just built a 30x10 deck at our campground and between the decking and the handrail I'm currently working on, I've had more boards cracking and splitting than I feel I should with "wet" lumber, not to mention the number of planks that were warped like hell. I guess you get what you pay for though.... a guy down the way from me has some great looking lumber from a smaller yard but he probably paid twice as much.

[Exitspeed]

Nice job!

I'm not very happy with the SC2 stuff from Menards. I just built a 30x10 deck at our campground and between the decking and the handrail I'm currently working on, I've had more boards cracking and splitting than I feel I should with "wet" lumber, not to mention the number of planks that were warped like hell. I guess you get what you pay for though.... a guy down the way from me has some great looking lumber from a smaller yard but he probably paid twice as much.

Odd. I didn't have a single board split on me. Not even close. A couple of the 2x4's (which I ripped down to 2x2's) weren't very straight, but that's not uncommon with 2x4's. Maybe you just got a bad batch or something. Or maybe I got a good batch. Who knows. Sorry to hear that.

[Nix]

looks awesome man. my wife and i so wanted to get a deck done this year until i found out my job isn't as secure as i thought it was. maybe next year

[PHDcamaro]

everyone look at my spongebob boxers

[Lash]

Awesome!

I just finished up our 16' x 12' Pergola (Box Style) to get some pics.