How to plan and build a deck

The one component of a deck that gets messed up most often is the post-to-beam connection. Often the beam is slapped on the side of the post and they are bolted together. This is not good enough; the post, not the bolt, needs to bear the weight of the beam.

Instead, make a notch in the post to fit the beam. Use a 13mm through bolt or easy-to-use screw bolts made for this type of connection.

After the joists are installed, a rim joist holds them upright and keeps their spacing consistent. Unlike the other joists, the rim joist carries no load and is simply held in place, flush with the top and nailed to the ends of the joists.

After building a solid, long-lasting deck frame, it’s time to install long-lasting deck boards. I chose Deckorators’ Tropics line of decking. The composite material will last for decades maintenance-free, and the colour and grain pattern give it the appearance of high-end exotic wood. Be sure to carefully follow the specific instructions of whatever deck board fastening system you choose for your deck.

Check out this video: How to Build A Deck Part 4: Laying Boards

Surface-mount posts: I first determined the post locations while I was framing the deck, and I added extra blocking to fasten the surface-mounted posts. When the decking was done, I positioned the posts over the blocking, fastened them with structural screws and plumbed them with the supplied setscrews. Then I hid the screws by sliding on the post base trim.

Take a look at this project on how to build a freestanding deck.

Trim the rails with a mitre saw so they’re 2.5mm shorter than the distance between posts. Then fasten a rail bracket to each end, with the cable spacers attached equidistant along the bottom of the rail. Level the rail between the posts, then predrill the posts and fasten the rail.

This railing system consists of stainless steel cable with a threaded bolt on one end. I fed the cable end through the posts and the rail spacers, then attached a locking nut onto the threaded end.

Learn how to install solar deck lights.

At the opposite end, I twisted the provided Pull-Lock fitting onto the cable. I pushed the fitting into the predrilled hole in the post and pulled the cable tight while holding the fitting in place. This Pull-Lock fitting locks onto the cable to hold the tension. Thread and tighten all the cables, starting from the centre and working toward the top and bottom alternately. To tension them, hold the threaded stud in place with a hex key and turn the locking nut. Trim the excess cable and threaded stud, and cover both ends with the threaded caps included.

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Source: Family Handyman