Power Shed

Our client needed a new hydro drop because the old one is... well.. lets just say, it's not to code. We decided on a 6' by 6' shed to support the drop and house a panel that could direct the power to several different locations on the property.

I'm still really enjoying working with the corrugated siding. I find it complements the rough Hornby cedar trim, lasts forever, and need no maintenance at all. 

Once the weather gets nicer and the ground dries up we'll replace those muddy stairs with cedar decking. 

Hardscaping an Otter Slide

OK, so it's not exactly an otter slide but it was a muddy slope that was very slippery in the winter. Even in the summer the steep slope made carrying kayaks a pretty scary operation.

We started by building a solid landing that could support the bottom step of the landscape ties. Each run of the 8x8 landscape ties is scribed to fit the sandstone rock that lies just under the soil. The rock added complexity by forcing us to work around it, but also let us pin the landscape ties to something very solid.

This is the new landing with the mudslide above. The rock is only 4-6 inches below the mud.

The new steps. We created a series of boxes made of 8x8 pressure treated landscape ties. They are all, but 2, pinned into the sandstone with 1/2" rebar.  The boxes still need to be filled with material and top dressed with mulch or pea gravel .

Using a hammer drill we chipped a pocket into the sandstone
that would accept the 8x8. A hole was then drilled through
the wood and into the rock and a piece of 1/2" rebar was
driven in to pin the wood to the rock.

Rebuilding a Garden Deck

We were hired to rebuild a garden deck that had become completely rotten and very dangerous. We tore it right back to the footings, and even moved them around to accommodate more appropriate joist spans. The old deck had been framed with site milled fir and over the last 20 years had just turned to mush.

We re-framed it with pressure treated 2x8s, and redecked it with site-milled Western Red Cedar that had been sawn to a full 2x6 dimension. We rounded over all of the edges with a router before laying the decking down. A border board closed the deck and hides the end grain of the decking.

The upper deck was rebuilt with a post-and-beam feel to replace the closed in motif that was there previously. Less closed in space will allow for better air flow and the material will dry much more quickly.

We used an extra wide decking board to frame the
 water feature in the left side of this picture.

Any pressure treated framing was hidden by a cedar
facing board.

Reclaiming Old Cedar

We took down our old tool shed which left us with a whack of 3rd grade old growth cedar that the lumber yard was having a hard time giving away.  I was thinking firewood or fencing when one of my clients asked me for a bench for his outdoor shower.

I selected one piece and ripped the wane off on the table saw and thought, "Hmmm... edge grain!". A pass or two through the thickness planer uncovered a beautiful piece of wood with lots of colour and variations in the grain.

A couple of hours later this cute cedar bench emerged from the remnants of a demolished shed, a handful of screws, and a few coats of poly-urethane finish.

Tool Shed

This tool shed was built to house... well... tools. It also doubles as a pump house. As a bit of an experiment, I sided it with 7/8 Corrugated Galvalume roofing. I used chunky bits of yellow cedar as corner boards and window trim to soften the industrial look of the metal cladding. Using prepared flashings for corners would be quicker, easier, and cheaper, but would present a much different look.

Garden Shed with Outdoor Shower

I built this garden shed with an attached wood storage space and an outdoor shower for a client. I may be a bit behind the curve, but I'm really liking the mix of corrugated metal roofing and chunky cedar. I've used it on our new tool shed and just about everything else I've been working on. As siding it's reasonably priced, and goes up quickly.

The shed and shower from their front door.

The door to the shower

High Salal Deck

I worked  for a couple of months high up on an ocean cliff redecking a multilevel, curved deck. The decking was rotten but, aside from a few necessary repairs, the framing was in pretty good shape. 

I used 2x6 cedar that had been sanded on all 4 sides. All cut sides of the wood get a pass with a roundover bit on the router to soften all the edges.

The deck was originally designed and built with integrated benches, planters and stairs. Much of that framing needed to be rebuilt, but the design was so gorgeous that it was easy to work on.

We use a herring bone pattern for all of our joints. Mitered joints inevitably open up after a few years and end up looking rough. Over the 30 years that the deck has been there, the arbutus trees had begun to encroach on both the decking and framing.  There were a few changes to be made to accomodate the larger trees.