Building a Deck - Planning

In order to legally construct a deck, you have to get a building permit. As long as standard construction practices are adhered to and you aren't trying to do anything too "out of the ordinary," you will most likely be allowed to prepare your own permit drawings. You may find, however, that it pays to take advantage of the experience, design talent, and drawing skills of a professional to prepare your drawings.

Before you start preparing drawings or hire a professional, you will want to carefully consider why you want to build the deck.

• Are you simply replacing an existing deck?

• How will you use your new deck? Entertaining? Dining? Grilling? Play? Hot tub?
• How much construction experience do you have? The more experience you have, the more complex a project you may be willing to undertake.
• What is your budget? The materials cost for a 10'x10' square deck will be approximately $1,200. Extras like complex railings, trellises, and multiple levels will bump up the cost. If you hire someone to build your deck, labor will be the largest cost.
• Are there any special conditions that you have to deal with? Often a deck will have to work around basement stair access, meters, hose bibs, and other things attached to your house.

The example deck was designed to meet a variety of criteria: easy access to the back yard, grilling area, dining area, seating area, and provision of shade. A privacy screen was incorporated to shield the deck from the neighbor's adjacent kitchen window. It also incorporates an existing brick pier (that supports a second floor sunroom) into its structure. The image to the left illustrates the final design of the deck, taking into account all the criteria.

Whether you are drawing the deck yourself or hiring a professional designer, it is critical that you fully understand how the deck is put together. The easiest way of demonstrating this to yourself is to draw details (to scale) of the unique situations. How does the deck attach to the wall? Are there sills, siding, or brick details that protrude from the wall where you will attach the ledger board? How does the band board attach to the posts? How will the posts attach to the piers? Etc...

The drawings to the right and photo above illustrate how some of the connections were made in the example deck. Note how the two drawings represent the same information in different ways. It is not necessary to go to this amount of detail, but rather, make sure to think through the critical elements in depth so you don't end up tearing out work.

The galvanized steel angles you see in these images were installed as temporary support while the footings were poured (more on this later).