In part 2 of my deck sprucing up (in lieu of total replacement) I decided some lattice around the perimeter would really clean it up.
I ended up with a vinyl lattice, and two accessory pieces: bottom edging (to hide the cut edge and follow the ground), and gap trim (to hide the gap between pieces of lattice).
I spent a lot of time brainstorming how to actually design the solution (what to actually cover), and how to secure it properly. After looking at the label on the lattice itself, I realized stakes would be ideal to give the bottom of the lattice something to hang onto. For the top, I'd just screw it into the deck 2x8s.
For the stakes, I made my own using a 1x3 PVC board, cutting into 12" long sections, and I actually selected a 60° angle for the tip. Shout out, again, to my Irwin clamps. So handy. My Ryobi One+ circular saw obviously had no problem handling these light duty cuts.
At roughly 2 foot increments, I used a level to follow the edge down from the 2x8, and a 2.5 lb mini-sledge to drive the stakes into the ground, leaving an inch or two exposed to screw into. Notice the shim pieces against the 4x4 post (set back from the face of the 2x8). I used two which made a perfect 1.5" shim.
More shims, and one stake behind the steps.
My PVC lumber. Really ideal for a job like this. Won't rot, and I'm not asking much of it structurally.
My first piece of lattice is cut, with the bottom edging installed. It is propped up with my level, just to make sure I like how this is going to look. Short answer: yep.
A small cut by the siding J-channel just to close the gap with the foundation. Not screwed in yet.
It's the measuring, cutting and fastening that actually makes this job surprisingly tedious. First, you can't have the lattice tightly fastened and it needs expansion space in all dimensions, or else it will bow. One look at the Home Depot reviews and it is clear people don't follow directions, and think they can just screw this on and it'll be fine forever. Nope. But if you take some care to cut it short on the bottom (float in the gap of the trim), plus drill oversized holes for each fastener AND actually leave every screw a bit loose, there won't be any issues. I used stainless screws. To fasten the shims on the 4x4 posts, I just used some deck screws, since you'll never see the heads.
So here's two pieces, with the gap trim installed between each section of lattice. Coming along, just slowly. That's my dad. He enjoyed helping with this project. Thanks, Dad.
Argh, we spent way too much time measuring and it still came out way off around the step.
Nothing a bunch more tedious measuring and cutting can't fix (I bet I spent at least 20 minutes measuring/cutting this piece to insert).
One side done, onto the back. I used the bottom trim to make sure my stakes were fairly straight. This actually took quite a few tries until I realized the 2x8 wasn't actually perpendicular with the ground. This is also the area the deck had previously settled.
Next 8 foot piece of lattice up. Looking pretty awesome!
Time to wrap up for the day (and weekend). This would wait for the following weekend to continue (basically the 2nd half).