Design & Build a Long-Lasting, Beautiful Deck

From design to finish, this board features expert guidance from deck-building pros. Explore the latest materials, techniques, and code-compliant practices to ensure your deck is safe, beautiful, and long-lasting. Whether you’re a pro or a DIYer, you'll find the step-by-step tips and inspiration you need to build the deck of your dreams. #DeckBuilding #OutdoorLiving #DIYDeck #ConstructionTips
34 Pins
·
3w
Spacers for Deck Fascia Boards
"In addition to giving us that airspace and clearing all of the hardware that’s underneath, we can also use these spacers to micro-adjust how far the fascia board is standing off of the framing." Watch the full video series to learn how to build a freestanding deck.
Add an Isolation Membrane to Deck Posts
After applying copper naphthenate to your PT lumber, add an isolation membrane between the wood and metal hardware to prevent corrosion. #DeckBuilding #ConstructionTips #ProTips #PressureTreatedLumber #DeckHardware
Bracketed Deck Connections
Proprietary hardware made by Simpson Strong-Tie, MiTek, and Screw Products, Inc. are used to reinforce the guard post to the deck framing along the rim joist and end joists. The manufacturers have installation guides that are important to follow to ensure sound post reinforcement. The connection designs shown here are applicable for 36-in. guards on residential decks. Check the hardware manufacturer’s literature for use with taller guards.
How to Install Decking Planks
The basic steps of installing deck planks are not difficult. Cutting planks to length, spacing them correctly, and securing them are all operations that anyone with basic carpentry skills can easily accomplish. The difficulty comes in the repetition. Not only will you repeat these operations ad nauseam, but you will also need to keep your focus so you repeat them correctly from beginning to end.
Better-Built Wood Deck Railings
Aaron Rosburg has repaired many rotted wooden deck and porch railings. In many of these structures, water pools on the flat bottom rail and eventually the railings fall apart. In this article, he outlines a better way to build a wood railing and protect it from water damage: add an angled subrail connected to the balusters with a birdsmouth joint, which will shed water when it rains.
Guard-Post Connections: Outside Corners
Veteran deck-builder and contributing editor Mike Guertin describes the prescriptive solutions in the 2021 International Residential Code for attaching guard posts to deck framing for a safe and secure guard system.
Learn How to Build a Freestanding Deck
In this video series, Mike Guertin takes you through the step-by-step process of creating a small but visually appealing and functional deck. In each video, he reveals some of his expert tips on enhancing the durability of any deck — no matter the size.
Installing a Picture-Frame Border on a Deck
If you choose to surround your deck with a picture-frame border, it can be installed before or after the field decking. One technique is to install the field decking first, letting the ends run long then cut them all at once to accommodate the border.
Seal Cut Ends of Pressure Treated Lumber
Don’t forget to seal the cut ends of PT lumber before setting your deck posts. It's a code-required step to protect against rot and ensure a long-lasting structure. #DeckBuilding #Deck #BuildingCode #DeckPosts #WoodProtection #KeepCraftAlive
Guard Posts for Angled Deck Corners
Prescriptive codes don't address the connection at less common angles, so base the connection off more typical ones using bolts, structural screws, blocking, and steel tension ties.
Ideas for Custom Railings
While there’s no shortage of off-the-shelf railing systems from decking manufacturers, there still can be advantages to building your own system. Cost is one. Craft is another. Still another is the ability to deliver a unique outdoor feature that fits a client’s desires and a deck’s design perfectly.
Considerations for Building a Freestanding Deck
Mike Guertin explains why they chose to build a freestanding deck rather than one that attaches to the house.
Make Your Own Deck-Board Spacer
Fine Homebuilding reader Grant from Ottawa shares an expert tip on how to make your own deck-board spacer out of a speed square.
Freestanding Deck Build: How to Use Hideaway Fasteners
Mike Guertin demonstrates how Trex Hideaway Fasteners make installing deck boards a breeze. With their universal installation tool, screws align perfectly for a secure fit, while preventing overdrive every time. Here is how it works. #DeckBuild #Construction #Deck #ToolTips #Trex
Building Wraparound Box-Frame Stairs on a Deck
In this video, builder Mike Guertin teaches his preferred method for framing wraparound stairs: box-frame construction. He also details the processes of notching footings and installing joists with hangers, and he stresses the importance of using Trex® Protect Joist, Beam, and Rim Tape to prevent metal-wood contact.