Building a Deck: Expert Advice from Start to Finish (Taunton's Build Like a Pro)
by Scott Schuttner
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Book Summary Information
Author: Scott SchuttnerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-09-09
ISBN: 1561584797
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Taunton Press
Book Reviews of Building a Deck: Expert Advice from Start to Finish (Taunton's Build Like a Pro)
Book Review: Has most of the details needed to build a deck...
Summary: 4 Stars
Building a Deck (Build Like A Pro)
My construction experience includes home additions, house remodeling/renovation, and many indoor upgrades, but only one deck. So, when we decided to replace our own old deck with one using the latest materials, a how-to book was in order. After reviewing deck books at local stores, this one stood out as the most useful.
Cons:
- This book was written in 2002 and needs a major revision to incorporate current building materials. For example, the deck railing chapter talks mostly about building railings out of wood. The same is true for decking, where almost the entire focus is on wood. The author devotes a page or so to Trex and a few other materials available in 2002, but a host of newer products are now available. Today, there are a wide variety of composite planking (plastics & wood) choices; all synthetic decking such as Azek deck "boards"; PVC and perma-cast balusters; and metal-reinforced vinyl/PVC railing (stainless steel cables, aluminum, steel).
- The book explains attaching the top of a staircase to the deck and methods for anchoring the stairs bottom to a concrete pad; without addressing the frost heave issue. In my area, outside concrete pads frequently frost-heave upwards up to an inch by mid-January. If the author's approach was used here, heaving would jack up the stair bottom, weakening or destroying stairs-to-deck connections. This was inexplicable since the author addresses the frost issue in other places.
- There were a few techniques described that, lacking a diagram or photograph, were too ambiguous to be useful.
- One book can't cover every construction scenario, but it was frustrating that it didn't cover some of the things I needed. E.g., in the section on how to flash the ledger board, the examples show houses with siding above and below the ledger. There were no examples of having siding above the ledger and a masonry wall below.
- If a ledger is lag-screwed against the house sheathing (through to a rim joist), our county building code requires flashing (metal, butyl rubber, etc.) between the sheathing and the ledger. Following the book's approach of having nothing at all there wouldn't pass inspection.
Pros:
- The main focus is teaching the reader how to build a deck, rather than how to deal with a contractor that will build your deck.
- Intelligently organized, with excellent "pro-tips", details, safety tips, building codes, diagrams, and photographs throughout.
- I didn't want a deck book for the novice. Not to worry; the author uses a writing style that worked for me, but should still work for a novice. The book may be too basic for a decking contractor, but it should be helpful for anyone else.
- Multiple approaches are described for most aspects of a deck project, versus having one this-is-the-way-to-do-it, approach.
- Occasional mention of the applicable building code (e.g., balusters can be spaced no farther than 4" apart), with advice of how to exceed standards, when the author believes building codes are too lax.
- Every aspect of a deck project is well discussed, except for financing. It starts with deck planning, and things you should consider, and progresses logically through foundations, ledgers, posts, and beams, joists, decking, railings, stairs, and custom details.
Summary:
This book was clearly worth its small cost, even though it didn't [adequately] cover newer materials or all construction issues. I improved several aspects of our planned deck, based on ideas in this book, and, found out most of what I needed to know in order to do the detail plans required by our county building inspections department.
Summary of Building a Deck: Expert Advice from Start to Finish (Taunton's Build Like a Pro)
The definitive guide to building the most popular exterior building project there is: the deck. This book walks the reader through the entire process -- from the planning stages, through construction, step-by-step, to the custom details that make a deck unique. The book covers the practical side of building as well as design considerations that make a difference to discriminating homeowners.
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