If at first you don’t succeed… dig more holes. That was the plan after our first deck footing inspection didn’t pass (this post explains that debacle). Progress on the deck is slow but steady; we’re aiming to have a finished space for family dinners by the end of summer—maybe even as soon as next month if luck is on our side. But before that could happen, we hit a speed bump.
Because the county wouldn’t allow ledger boards to be attached to certain surfaces, our original plan had to be scrapped in favor of a free-standing deck. That meant more footings—seven additional holes, bringing the total to twelve footings. Five of my earlier holes were still usable, one was essentially useless, and the rest needed to be added.
We’d already learned that digging holes is hard but manageable. After the first round left my dad and me sweaty and sore, I felt guilty making him do seven more—but it was better than tackling all twelve at once (and it spared me another auger rental fee). In short: it could have been worse.
This time we borrowed both the 8″ and 12″ auger bits, since the code requires 12″ wide footings. Using the proper 12″ bit meant no extra hand-digging to widen holes, and we hoped it would speed things up. The work was straightforward—until we hit something unexpected.
On the first starter hole, my shovel struck something solid. I thought it might be a root or brick, but as we uncovered more dirt it revealed a 6″ thick concrete slab—likely a remnant of an old entry landing or staircase. It was too thick to break with a sledge and nearly too heavy to move. After levering boards underneath and shimmying, my dad and I were able to shift it just enough to dig the footing where it needed to be.
Moving that slab was exhausting, and we still hadn’t dug a single hole. Once it was out of the way, though, we fired up the auger and got to work.
The 12″ bit was heavier and a little harder to handle, but it saved us time since the holes came out the correct width without extra work. It made quick work of getting the required 21″ deep holes for our area.
I still used a manual hole digger to clean out loose dirt that the auger left behind. Also, apparently I pull faces while my wife documents the process—always aiming to entertain.
All told, the seven holes plus shifting the slab took about 90 minutes. We weren’t nearly as wiped out as the first time—maybe because the temperature was cooler, or perhaps because the earlier work made us stronger.
With the holes dug, we nervously scheduled the inspector for the next day. I don’t like failing at things, so I lost a little sleep worrying about another rejection. But the visit went great.
Woo hoo. A different inspector stopped by, glanced at the updated plans and the holes, and said, “looks good.” No measuring, no comments about the ledger—just approval. Sherry barely had time to snap a picture; the visit was that quick.
After the approval I asked a few follow-up questions. Most importantly, I confirmed that the ledger boards I’d already attached could remain as rim boards for the freestanding deck. They won’t carry the deck’s weight—the posts will—but they’ll provide a convenient place to attach fascia and finish the perimeter. That saved us from undoing the work and re-siding the house where the ledger had been. I just need to counterflash the ledger board, which I planned to do anyway.
Excited by the good news, I texted my mom to share the update.
Next up: ordering additional materials (posts and girder boards) so I can start assembling the structure. Fingers crossed for a favorable inspector at the final inspection. Thanks to everyone who shared their own mishaps last week—your stories helped more than you know. Now I want to hear a positive one: what problem have you recently solved that ended up turning out better than you expected?
P.S. Thanks to everyone who checked in after the storm Friday night. We lost power until Sunday afternoon and saw some intense winds, but our home was spared damage and power has been restored—huge appreciation to the crews who helped get things back online.