Deck Building
Made Simple

Web Build-YourOwn-Home.com

Now mind you I am not that great of a carpenter, but the way I built my deck anybody can do it and save 40 to 70%.

First let’s start out by talking about why I built my deck in this fashion:

• The land that I built on is fairly level
  
• I wanted to build a deck that fit in with the natural surroundings, including trees and landscaping.
  
  
• It was considerably cheaper.
  
  
• Relatively simple to build.
  
  

Obviously this type of deck building will only work for some of you, but I hope it gives you some good ideas.

Let’s get started!

Shopping List for Deck Building

Elephant Foot

The elephant foot offers a preformed top that fit a 2x4,6,8,10,12 board. The boards fit in sideways and make a great stable footing. The bottom of the elephant foot is flared out to spread the weight load over a larger surface.

I got a little carried away with the number of elephant feet that I used for a couple of reason (in other words I added a bunch of them).

• The ground that I put the deck on often stays wet for long durations
  
  
• I used 2x4 instead of 2x6 or 8’s to save money on lumber, and make the deck lower to the ground, so I needed more support
  
  
• My deck was large and I wanted to make sure it remained stable. I hate the thought of a deck that is springy or soft in spots.
  
  
• It is better to have too much support than not enough.
  
  

Joists

You will need 2 x 4, 6, 8 for your Joists (support boards that go sideways in the elephant feet).

Facial Board

You will also need to install a 2x6, 8, 12 as a facial board around the whole deck to finish it off. You can use a thinner board, but I do not recommend it because you most likely will use the facial board to attach your railings. We will discuss Deck Railings on a different page.

Fasteners

The primary fastener that I used was a 3 ¼” 16D Galvanized nail. I used a pneumatic nail gun to do most of the nailing. I strongly suggest this for your deck building. Especially if your deck is going to be large.

I bought 2 cases of nails and used almost all of them. If I had not used a nail gun my right arm would have fallen off. Rent one, buy one. or borrow one, it will save you a lot of time and pain.

One last thing on lumber before we build. I used treated lumber for everything. I suggest this strongly. Decks are a special favorite of our friend the termite.

Deck Building Layout

If you notice in the pic below you will see string lines running over the deck.

Since I had trees to build my deck around I essentially built three decks. I staked out each section separately and ran string lines to insure I got it level. I would strongly suggest you get a copy of Outdoor Projects from Home Depot. They do a good job explaining how to run string lines for leveling.

I then placed my elephant feet in a straight line two feet apart for my Joists to fit in. After I got all this lined up I then leveled the joist by shimming underneath them where they fit into the elephant foot. I used short 4x4” piece of treated wood that fit into the elephant feet standing on end in different lengths to make the deck level.

Leveling the joist takes a lot of time and patience. You must make sure all your Shims (4x4 pieces) are snug so you support the deck evenly.

Deck Building / Put it all Together

At this point I laid out my boards across the joists and nailed them down. I let the boards run wild (run over a little) over the ends, and cut them off with a Skill Saw in a straight line. I popped a chalk line to achieve a nice clean cut. This is also explained very well with good illustrations in the Outdoor Projects Book.

Deck Building / Finishing

After all the deck boards were down and trimmed out evenly on the edges I attached a 2x6 facial board to finish it out prior to putting up Deck Railings.

On the edges that had no joist end to attach to I installed a 2x4 block and attached it to the joist for support. This looks a little flimsy but once the decking is in place and everything is tied together it is very strong.

After I completed the Deck and the Deck Stairs. I built the Deck Railing.