day in the life of a carpenter newbie: framing a deck from scratch

alright, im a second year apprentice and today was my first solo framing gig on a backyard deck out here in rural Ohio. started at 7am hauling 2x10s and pressure treated posts from lowes, boss had me set the footings first with sonotubes dug 4 feet down to beat the frost line. then leveled everything with a 4 foot torpedo level and cut the joists using my milwaukee m18 circular saw, which saved my ass on those compound angles. by noon me and the helper were sistering in some doubled up beams cuz the span was pushing 12 feet, and i double checked all the toe nails with 10d galvanized. wrapped up around 6pm after adding the rim joists, feels good to see it square but damn my back is killing me. anyone got tips for faster deck framing without skimping on code?

use a kreg pocket hole jig for quicker joist connections, cuts time in half on repetitive cuts.

solo framing your first deck? ballsy move, just dont drop a post on your foot like i did back in the day.

same here man, first few jobs leave you wrecked but it gets easier.

watch for uneven ground in rural spots, always double dig those footings or you'll be redoing it next spring.

fuck these homeowners who think decks are easy, then complain about every nail hole.

rural ohio decks always fight the clay soil, i hate pouring concrete in that crap.

bosses pushing apprentices too soon, had a similar day last week and nearly botched the whole thing.

shut up and learn to swing a hammer right, toe nailing aint rocket science.

milwaukee m18 is clutch, but get the fuel line for longer battery life on big jobs.

controversial take: skip sonotubes if the soil is stable, just use gravel and post bases to save time and cash.

yeah decks in ohio suck with the weather swings.

start your day with stretches, saved my back after 10 years of this.

r/woodworking had a thread on deck fails last month, eye opening stuff.

someone in contractors network fb group was ranting about apprentice mistakes costing jobs, spot on.

watched a jonny builds video on deck framing, changed how i level posts forever.

us carpenters stick together against these cheap material prices, lowes jacking up 2x10s again.

felt that back pain, ice it and take ibu, dont let it sideline you early.

howd you handle the joist hangers? i always forget the hurricane ties in windy areas.

homeowners demanding custom angles without paying extra, pisses me off every time.

rural jobs mean long drives too, factor that gas into your day planning.

the contractors fight group is full of deck horror stories, read em before your next build.

try a laser level instead of torpedo, way more accurate for big spans.

first solo? congrats dude, but yeah the back ache is real, beer helps.

haha remember when i framed a porch and the whole thing shifted cuz i rushed the diagonals? epic fail.

essential craftsman tiktok has quick tips on squaring frames, bookmark that.