The Basics..........

                       But, it's just the kind of stuff that will cause you no end of grief and hardship if you ignore it.  

The following ten pages or so will walk you through a series of steps that will prepare you to make an informed decision as to that new deck you are thinking about. You can do the entire site in less than an hour. 

Unless you live next door to a building supply outlet, you will save yourself that hour many, many times over in the number of extra trips you will avoid.  

The site is a discussion of the things many of us wish we had known, and/or taken into consideration before we began construction. Unless you are an experienced deck building contractor, or are planning to hire such a person, I strongly urge you to read this entire site thoroughly. Make sure that you understand that building your new deck can be as easy or as gut-wrenchingly difficult as you make it; and it will be preparation that makes all the difference.

Ask questions.........lots and lots of questions.  Keep reading and "Googling" till you have answers that make sense for your situation. We've added a Google search bar at the bottom of each page; so there is no excuse for not finding your answers  BEFORE YOU BEGIN CONSTRUCTION.