Follow-up on deck repair
The inspector came and left and left a message for me on the phone and had no complaints about my deck. Even without the railing or the steps.
So I"m off the hook for a few years.
Maybe by then I'll want something specific. (I had thought about steps to the basement, covered by a part of the deck that would swing up when needed. Or an associated shed/locker for my bicycle and lawnmower)
I used the old treated 2x4's to build a fire-wood rack from a kit. (When target says they are selling a two-pack, don't believe them. It's two pieces but only makes ONE firewood rack. Most other ads for the same item, the Finley kit, didn't call it a two-pack.)
And I have about 48 square feet of space more for yard, which is a lot for a townhouse.
My shortened deck, my mini deck, two feet deep, is much better without railings. I can sit on the deck with my feet on the ground. I can use it as a work bench or a lunch table.
Maybe I'll build steps later.
It was 28 inches from the ground, but somehow when I was done magically it was 30 inches and an eighth above the ground! 30 inches and above is probably the height that requires a railing. I had made the 4x4 posts one eighth inch higher than the measured length, so they wouldn't fall out, and I thought maybe I measured wrong and the posts had somehow made the deck too high. But using a level, I saw the deck was still tipping down a little bit as it went away from the house. So I decided to raise the earth. First I just spread the dirt that there around better, but that wasn't enough, so I bought 40 pounds of top soil.
Unfortunately that stuff is black and my dirt is some of it dark brown and some of it light brown. I only put down a little and I may scoop it back up and put it where I can't see it. behind some bushes or in the stream bed. It only cost $1.23.
The inspector was reasonable.
I was going to tear down my whole deck and just put in steps to the back door until I could bulld a new deck, but the last 7 2x4's were sound, firmly nailed ot the joists. and not warped (though the outer ones sagged a bit. Im going to make the center leg longer and longer and maybe I can undo the sagging. )