Has anyone built a deck before? I have minimal DIY skills though I have helped with built in shelving and a fence. Is it something a first timer should undertake? I have some steps leading out of my kitchen down to a patio but I’d eventually like to build a deck with some privacy “panels” above the rails as my backyard doesn’t have much privacy. A dream scenario would be a covered deck but that’s probably above my pay grade.
I've built 3 decks before and they are not very complicated. The key is just make sure you understand the codes for where you live and then go watch some YouTube videos. The vast majority of the work is pretty forgiving.
If you ever plan on having someone do a covered deck for you in the future, then be advised that many times they will rip the deck out that you built because of concerns / liability about it not supporting the weight. Two houses ago, I build a huge deck that had two connected sections. One section was 16x18 and I had plans to enclose that into a 3 season room and added extra footings for a hot tub. The adjoining part was 10x22 and that wasn't enclosed.
I way overdid the footings and actually had a cement truck come with a 1/2 load so I could fill them more easily which was great (although I learned then that they give you ALL the concrete even if it's more than your project requires). Thankfully, I did way overdo the footings because I got busy so hired out the 3 season room part of it. The builder told me he had to remove my deck because most decks weren't strong enough, but once he looked at it, he laughed and said "yeah, that will suffice".
A couple other tips:
1) It's more expensive, but composite decking is the way to go. Once you put it down, you can forget it for the rest of your life. It might mean smaller spacing between joists, but it's worth it.
NOTE: We had a fire pit on our last deck and got it way too hot one night and it melted the composite to some extent. It was still structurally sound, but you could see the ring. Make sure you have some sort of heat shield if you have a fire pit on it.
1b) I used undermount clips for the decking at the last house and it eliminated any nail/screw holes which was awesome.
2) I HATE how pressure treated lumber warps for railings unless the runs are very short, so the last deck I did, I used better, more stable lumber for the railings and posts. I used IPE which was probably overkill, but it never warped at all. It's a very heavy and dense wood so you can't even nail into it without pre-drilling, but it's a lifetime wood (and the carpenter bees can't even drill into it). The deck before that I used red cedar and that seemed to work as well.
3) If you know someone nearby who had a deck built recently, go take a look at it and see what they did. You should be able to copy some of the key aspects of it (provided the builder did it right).
4) Newer pressure treated wood is much more corrosive to nails/bolts/screws than the old arsenic based PT. For critical connections (such as the board attached to your house), use either stainless steel bolts or use a plastic sleeve round a galvanized bolt. Also, regular (even coated) deck screws will eventually corrode some and leave a "black streak" down the wood over time so if you can afford it, stainless steel screws will eliminate that.
5) If you have a friend who has built decks before, get him or her to help, or at least consult. Will make the job immensely easier.
6) Take the time to plan it out and draw it out, including all the joists/posts, etc.. You'll find many mistakes when drawing it all out that you would have made while cutting the wood.
Good luck!
kmtools.com
