An outdoor deck is always an attractive addition to any residential property especially one with a spacious backyard. There's more reason to add a deck if the back part of your home provides a fantastic view of nature. If your house, however, faces a beach, the deck should then be ideally situated in the front part.

Decide first on what type of deck to put up. Would you like something free standing or one that is attached to the house?

Good planning is vital if you're decided on installing a deck in your home. Remember though that you don't need to hire an architect or any professional to do the plan because a simple sketch of what you want to achieve will do. Basically, your plan should have a layout that will take into account the design of your house, access in and out of your home, the space available outside, the yard's grade as well as gardens already in place.

Assuming that you would like your deck connected to the house, an important consideration is the framing that will support it. If you're not very skilled at this ask, it would be best to get the help of a contractor or a professional designer.

The support for your deck will not only include the main frame but footings and posts as well especially if you're building the structure at a higher level. The footings and posts are those that will support the beams where the joists and deck boards are attached. More footings will be needed for large decks.

Choose properly the size of the beams and joists and how many you will need for the spans. The size of the joist ranges from 2 x 6 to 2 x 10 while their spacing between beams can either be 12, 16 or 24 inches on the center.

Decide on your deck boards next. The sizes available are 2 x 4, 2 x 6 and 5/4 x 6. For your material, you have various choices when it comes to wood. The most widely used are redwood, cedar and pine that is pressured-treated. These types of wood are strong and durable as they are not prone to moisture decay.

Finally, don't forget the deck rails. These components are meant to ensure that your outdoor deck is safe to use. This is the reason why you need to check your local building codes.

Deck rails should have a minimum height of 36 inches starting from the top of the deck boards up to the topmost part of the hand rail. The balusters will have to be designed only vertically but never in a horizontal style and they should be spaced no more than four inches. Other designs, however, may be used as in the case of the modern deck railings these days.

Now if the steps will also include part of the deck rail, it should follow the standard height. The measurement should start from the tip of the stair tread up to the handrail. Additionally, keep in mind that you will have to install a handrail if the railing for the side of steps if more than 36 inches in height.

For more information on Deck rails, please visit BuyRailings.com, a leading distributor of railings, hand and foot rails, curtain rods and more.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kalyan_Kumar

Filed under: Woodworking Plans

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!