Deck Part 2 - The Smell Of Fresh Cedar

Working with cedar definitely has an added bonus - the aroma when cuttin it! I spent the last few days adding 5/4 x 6 cedar decking to the new deck in between rain drops. The fresh cedar smell even blows in the house taking away the stale funk that still resides on the 2nd floor....



I had to use a 16 ft and an 8 ft board to make the slightly over 20 ft span, staggering the joints. The leftover ends are just to expensive to throw out, so I'll end up making some flower boxes from them. The posts for the railing are 4x4 cedar double bolted to the rim joists and are 36" above the deck surface. The tops I cut into a pyramid design - a shape that is reflected in many of the details of the house. I've also started design on a railing which will be made similar to the porch. The top and bottom rails will be custom cut from 2x4 cedar and the stiles can be purchased in 4 ft. lengths - so I plan to design a rail using 24 inch stiles - to expensive to have waste with this stuff!

Next time will be making and installing the railing system...