How I Designed and Built My Own Backyard Deck: A Complete DIY Journey
By
spycraft
Summary
A detailed first-person account of designing and building a backyard deck over the course of nearly a year. The author describes buying a house with a missing deck, using high school drafting and CAD skills to create 9 technical drawings for a building permit, navigating local building codes and inspections, and then physically constructing the deck—from digging 10 concrete footings (42 inches deep) with a rented auger to framing, installing railings, and finishing. The post reflects on lessons learned (e.g., using 6x6s instead of 4x4s, avoiding wood-soil contact), the $6,000 total cost, and how the deck has held up over 9 years with periodic maintenance needed.
Source
Hacker NewsHow I Designed and Built My Own Backyard Deck: A Complete DIY Journeyblog.cosmin.cloudKey quotes
· 5 pulledI could design and build my own deck, how hard could it be?
The time I took to make the plans, even though it was necessary for getting a permit, I would still do it even if I didn't need a permit. Having a finished plan helped my building phase to go super smoothly.
I ended up spending about $6,000 for the deck everything said. If I had put another $6,000, I could have had a professional do it, and it might have been worth it, considering how much time it took me.
Overall I'm proud of my work and I hope it inspires others to see a similar project from start to finish.
The work is solid, it's lasted us 9 years and if I maintain it properly will probably last another 10 years with no problems.
You might also wanna read
A Practical Guide to Building a Design System in 90 Days
This article from Smashing Magazine provides a practical guide for setting up a design system from scratch within 90 days. It covers startin
Smashing Magazine·1y ago
Drafted launches AI-powered instant home design tool on Product Hunt
Drafted is an AI-powered home design tool that lets users draw a footprint, choose rooms, and instantly generate complete floor plans, eleva
Product Hunt·22d ago
DeRoche Projects Completes Backyard Community Club in Accra with Rammed-Earth Tennis Court Enclosure
DeRoche Projects has completed the Backyard Community Club in Accra, Ghana, featuring a tennis court enclosed by four-metre-high rammed-eart
Dezeen·7mo ago
DIY cyberdecks evolve from rugged laptops to personal art projects built in purses and toys
DIY enthusiasts are building creative "cyberdeck" computers inside unconventional items like purses, jewelry boxes, toys, and old tech, movi
theverge.com·15d agoJust passed the new Claude Certified Architect - Foundations (CCA-F) exam with a 985/1000!
Programming Street - 150: A Curated Problem Set for Coding Beginners to Build a Strong Foundation Before DSA
This article introduces "Programming Street - 150," a curated collection of 150 coding problems designed for beginners, especially those fro
github.com·2d ago