Lower Deck, Day 2

Fine sunny weather has allowed good progress on the frame build today.  Nearly two thirds of it now at it's full extent :

 It looks like every 6th joist has a support down into the ground :

There are two joists led on their sides.  The overall length is more than the maximum available length of a deckboard, so each will be made up from a long and a short, with adjacent boards alternating the alignment of the joint.  These horizontal joists are the two meeting points :

The supports are supposed to be set in concrete plugs like this one, but because of the amount of stone in the ground they have found it quite difficult to dig the holes. 

 In retrospect they should have set out the holes first, before building any framework.  We now have a combination of some set in concrete plugs, and some simply knocked into the ground until they hit something solid, then sawn off at the right level.  I did query this with the boss man, really just to make sure that he knew what his on-site team were doing, but he said it was "standard practice" so I am not going to worry.  He keeps telling me it is guaranteed for 15 years and, to be honest, if one gives way, it is ridiculously easy to lift the deck boards and put a new support in, or even to replace a rotten joist.

Another view of the framework so far :

I was very interested to see what they were using for the concrete plugs.  It is called "Postcrete" and is a quick setting concrete that you don't have to premix.  You dig the hole, position your post at the right level and temporarily hold it in place.  You then fill the hole one third with water and throw in an appropriate amount of the Postcrete.  It mixes itself in situ and sets solid.  Fantastic.  I hadn't come across this before.