Bench supports

After some family consultation aided by a mockup of a possible new design we built, we broke out the jigs and templates we'd used on the 15-degree angled bench and rail system we'd perfected for the Big House deck.

Here's the workstation up on the badminton court.  We're using new redwood for its dimensional consistency and aesthetics, but slotting in off-cuts of milled wood for non-exposed pieces.  Muggs has cut all the pieces in advance, and then slides them into the jig so that all the angles and lengths and clearances are completely consistent.   He secures them first with construction adhesive and screws, and then drills for 1/2" bolts to ensure that each unit is bombproof.

The tangs of each support fit over a joist and extend below, to be bolted both to the joist and to a strut below the joist.  In this way the strains on the slanted rails are distributed widely (in contrast to the ways the original Big House deck supports were constructed, which localized stress on the ends of 2 x 4s, with harrowingly rickety results after 20 years).  Here he is checking the front edge for plumb before clamping and bolting.

The board along the back ensures that the bench in this dining area will be as straight as we can make it.  Once all the bench supports and rails are in place I will move around with a cutting jig that I built and kept, and will quickly be able to cut off the supports to the correct level at the correct angle.

This view shows the bench supports in place.  When I lay the decking out I planned for 4" boards in the line of the locations of the bench supports, so that I could add the little cross piece underneath (to accept the lower tangs) and then not have to notch the deck boards to match the supports, a time-consuming and frustrating process.  I'll just cut the board, butt it up against the front edge, and re-screw it down, and then cut slightly angled pieces to continue under the bench and out to the edge of the deck