Tap to Read ➤

Helpful Tips on Building a Deck

Bidisha Mukherjee
Deck construction involves a lot of hard work; however, you can do it yourself. It does not require you to be an expert in carpentry. Here are some vital tips on building a deck for you.
Constructing a deck attached to your house is a great idea, not because it is a place for entertainment, but because it saves the money you might spend on an outing for you and your family. The most important prerequisites for this are time, right skills and tools, and a strong desire to face the challenges.

Permission

Municipalities of certain areas allow construction only if prior permission is taken. So, the first thing that should be done is to check out with your municipality if any permit is required.
For obtaining the permit, you have to submit a drawing plan or sketch, along with some permit fee. If you do not take the required permission, you will have to pay a fine, and at the same time, the constructed deck could be pulled down.

Design Ideas

Do not expect too much from yourself. You need not have the expertise to build a deck. Thus, it is important that you keep the design very simple. If any of your plans do not work out the way you want them to, it will only add up to your frustration.
In your plan, only include those things that are important. Decide on the location, measurements, and amenities. Your design should consist of a simple platform accompanied by stairs, which match up with the simplicity of the platform. Many people try to experiment with the stairs and fail to achieve the desired result.

Required Material

The best timber that you can use is pressure treated. Many people tend to avoid pressure treated timber, as it used to contain harmful arsenic. However, now it does not have any arsenic content and is safe for use. It is not very expensive, and at the same time it lasts for a long time.
Non-pressure treated wood can be less expensive, but you have to replace them every five years. If you are interested in investing more, high quality cedar wood is a good option for you.

Selecting the Right Fastener

Stainless steel fasteners are just right with pressure treated wood. Some of the metallic types of fasteners may cause corrosion to the wood and weaken its joints. Moreover, the building codes of some municipal areas permit stainless steel fasteners only.
Screws should be preferred over nails, as they are stronger than nails and make the job of fastening much quicker. A special type of galvanized screw is also available in the market that can give you the kind of finish you want.

Building Tips

• While setting up the lumber for building, care should be taken that its curved rings are faced upward. This will ensure that all water from the deck board can be drained off quite easily. As a result, the wood will not get rotten.
• Fastening or screwing is another important aspect. When you are fastening both the ends of the board to the beams, you should screw them at around eight to ten places to add the required strength.
• For making a hole on the wood for the screws, use cordless drills. Avoid using electric drills.
• Once you have finished construction, you need to protect the wood from rotting. Avoid any solid color finish as they tend to peel off very easily and hence are difficult to maintain. Water repellent preservatives available in the market work the best for protection from sun, wind, snow etc.
Deck building is a time-consuming task. Hence, you require a lot of patience to finish it off. Once you have completed the task of construction, you can enhance its look with accessories. You can add embellishments like railings, lighting, heaters, bars, and inbuilt seating arrangements.