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Decked out with tension
Today I diverge from any my normal subjects and focus on something completely irrelevant to the world at large. Recently I was forced to step out of my computer geek haven/music studio and do some of that physical labor stuff. Sometimes it is important to prove to myself that I'm opposed to a little digging, lifting, drilling, sawing and just plain getting dirty.
It all started way back in the olden days, about a year ago, when my wife and I decided to build a deck in our unfinished yard. With the generous help of my Pa and my Uncle, a plan was put into action and construction began. After a couple days and nights of intense effort, a flat and level deck was born.
And then things settled down. Even the earth seemed to relax which eventually brought out a small but serious flaw in our deck design; our primary support beam was being pushed outwards by the force of the dirt pile below the deck as it shifted and eroded towards the lawn.
But I had a plan, well almost. A trip to Home Depot and I found myself with a nice supply of nuts, bolts, washers, aircraft cable, connectors, and a tensioning device with some forgotten name.
First I had to dig and prepare the footings to get back, get back, get back to where (they) once belonged.
Then I drilled some holes and inserted the aircraft wire I had carefully selected.
Pop a bolt in a suitable deck support, connect that tensioning do-daad, and viola!
[ For a view of these photos en-grande, click HERE ]
As I tighten the cable, the main beam pulls back in, and every couple centimetres I push the concrete blocks back. Everything seems to have gone smoothly so far. Now that my deck is once again almost perfectly level, I'll rest for a few weeks until I get a chance to put in some more support so the cable can just be for keeping things lined up. Ok everyone, show's over. Back to work.
Mickael Maddison