Deck building checklist

Obn2012_Aus

Hi Everyone,

Does anyone have a ready made checklist for deck building. I'm building it myself, and I want to minimize the mistakes that i might and maybe i will commit. So i thought of a checklist would really help.

Are there other things you can recommend to make the experience worthwhile?

sdsester

Every deck is different and there are so many variables depending on what you are trying to do. I would go to your library and look over some of the books on decks until you find one close to what you want to accomplish. They will have material and checklists.

Alternatively, look online for free or inexpensive deck designs. There is some inexpensive deck design software out there ($40US) that does a fairly decent job of building take-off lists and things as you design your deck.

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md2lgyk

Download this document: www.awc.org/publications/DCA/DCA6/DCA6-09.pdf

hand drive

I was recently looking at a construction book from the 80's and everything they recommended is far from code now a days. If the year of publication is from long ago consider not using the advice presented within the pages, only as a reference that will need major refining...

GBrackins

as md2 suggested above, download the American Wood Council's "Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide" and follow it. It is based upon the 2009 International Residential Code, the basis for most local and state building codes. It provides you with the information to construct a code compliant deck without the need for engineering. Now if you want to vary from the requirements of the guide then you would need (in most jurisdictions, yours may be different) to hire a professional engineer to design and demonstrate compliance with the building code.

if you have not already done so, I would highly recommend contacting your local building department and finding out if a permit is needed for your deck, and what drawings if any are needed. Don't want to get a "Stop Order" issued by the building department. The cost of the permit really goes up at that point as a penalty for working without a permit, and they could require you to remove what you had constructed without a permit. Just a suggestion ......

Post back with any questions.

Good luck!

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Gary

"You get what you pay for, and sometimes free costs more!"

allthumbsdiy

are you building your deck in Philippines or in the US?

GBrackins

good point thumbs! I'm not used to checking as it seems most newbie's do not enter their location .....

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Gary

"You get what you pay for, and sometimes free costs more!"

Obn2012_Aus

No I'm not building them at Philippines, it's my current location. I'm planning to build it when I get back home. Thanks for the advice guys it really helped me a lot. I should definitely consider the permits required.

joecaption

Call Miss Utility before digging.