Soundhaspriority wrote:
wrote in message
I am thinking of renting 'Jacks' from home depot and raise that
corner, fill up the soil little, replace the brick that's broken,
lower the deck back down onto new brick.
You're going to fill it up with more dirt?
Haven't you hillbillies ever heard of a foundation?
Go away. You're wasting all our time.
Excuse him being snotty- everyone has to start the learning process
somewhere. But he is right, dirt and a paver brick is not the correct
'foundation' for a main deck post like this. You are right about the
jacking, but there are cheaper ways to do it than rent a tall jack,
especially since you will need it for several days. A small jack, a pipe
or post, and some lumber for spreader bars, will do fine. If the needed
lift is only a couple of inches, a couple of too-tall posts, some 2x6s
for spreaders, and a sledge hammer may be enough. And then you will have
them for next time. You need to dig a hole into solid undisturbed dirt,
put down some gravel, and then pour concrete with a little reinforcement
in it, and put a bolt in the top for a bracket to hold the post. Rather
than write a book, I recommend you go to the book aisle at home depot or
a real bookstore, and look for the DIY deck and porch building books.
The pictures there will explain it better than words ever could. The
book will also tell you how to check the other posts, and the condition
and quality of the work on the entire deck. The fact that whoever built
your deck screwed up some basic like this, tells me the entire deck
needs looking at.
But having said all that, if this is the only thing wrong with the deck,
this should be something you can fix yourself, if you are up to the
physical labor, and have a way to haul the materials. Good luck, and let
us know how it turns out.
--
aem sends...