Finished Site Condition:
Deck Structure when finished was in the exact footprint as original, but was no longer a room, as there was now a tempered glass guard rail surrounding the perimeter of the deck. The 40′ radio antenna tower was removed, by disassembly, and some parts were kept by owner, with the balance being recycled.
This was a second story deck, demolish and install, in the exact footprint as the original. The condition of the deck was that it was nearly falling down. The beams and joists were mostly dry rotted with the decking in as bad a condition. The upper structure consisting of walls and a roof, were framed and also in very bad condition. The entire area of the walls and roof were glass. The glass, in “double strength” was regular plate glass, made it very dangerous. The owner and her cats had once used the “room”, but now found it too dangerous to be walking around in and on. All of the structure had to be removed and hauled away. In addition to the deck structure having to be removed, there was a 40’ radio antennae tower that had to be disassembled, hauled away and recycled as it was all metal.
After submitting a bid, to the owner, for all of the work, a contract was signed, and the drawings were prepared. This was a fairly simple design, and it was in the same “footprint”, so the drawings were completed internally at HTCI, and that made it easier, less expensive and quicker to obtain a permit. After a few visits to the San Carlos Building Department, to discuss whether engineering was necessary, and then submitting the drawings, the permit was eventually ready to be picked up.
The entire deck structure was very carefully dismantled. The glass was handled with glass suction cups, with handles, and brought out to trucks. All framing members and decking were loaded and taken away to be recycled. The, radio tower, it was decided, was taken down at the very end of the project. Once the deck was installed, the crew could use the new structure to help, by attaching the various pieces of equipment to it. This was the safest and most prudent way to accomplish this task. The radio tower came down, but it took about an entire a day with a crew of three men. Once the “Timbertech” decking was installed, and the framing, in Select Heart Redwood, was finished, all new tempered glass was installed. This gave the owner a virtually, clear view, off of her new deck. Her cats have a new playground to explore and enjoy also.
Pre-Site Condition and Preparation:
As seen from these photographs, most of the structure was deteriorated from years of dry rode.
