Deck Designs: Plus Railings, Planters, Benches [Paperback]

Steve Cory (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 28, 2000

Deck Designs, Plus Railings, Planters, Benches, is a combination idea and how-to book that contains 25 deck designs, plus general design information, for those contemplating building a deck. For homeowners, one of the most challenging aspects of building a deck is choosing a design that works for both the family and the yard where the deck will be installed. To help generate ideas, Creative Homeowner presents the best designs from four of the top deck designer/builders in the country. Their designs are shown in photos and renderings, as well as floor plans and details. Amenities like overhead structures, railings, benches, and planters are also detailed.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Inspiration is the key word for this new deck book. It contains some of the best designs from four of the top deck designer-builders across the country. Colorful graphics give homeowners countless ideas for their own decks.
- 25 real-life designs presented in renderings, plan views, and details
- Lists of materials used for each deck
- Information on amenities like planters, railings, benches, and trellises
- Introductory design section and designer-builder portfolios
- Over 70 color photographs and 190 full-color illustrations

From the Back Cover

Looking for deck ideas? You've come to the right place. Whether you are building a new deck yourself, having one built, or stepping up from a basic "builder special" deck, you'll find lots of fun-and practical-ideas in DECK DESIGNS, Plus Railings, Planters & Benches. The decks presented run the gamut from basic ground-level platforms to elaborate multilevel structures. Inside, you'll find
- An introductory design section, giving planning and design fundamentals
- The best designs from four of the country's top deck designer-builders, representing different regions of the U.S.: Northeast (New Jersey), Southeast (Virginia), Southwest (Texas), West (California)
- Special building techniques and shortcuts from the professional deck builders
- Beautiful full-color renderings, floor plans, and details of 25 decks that have actually been built, plus handsome color photographs of a part of each builder's portfolio as well as color photographs of a variety of additional decks
- Color illustrations of each deck in two views

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Creative Homeowner (April 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580110703
• ISBN-13: 978-1580110709
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #283,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > How-to & Home Improvements > Decks & Patios

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have before building a deck, August 21, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Deck Designs: Plus Railings, Planters, Benches (Paperback)

I almost made the mistake of letting the contractors design my deck. They came up with a big boring rectangle. Thank goodness I bought this book first! It is packed with many wonderful ideas, including photos and tips to making a deck interesting and functional. It covers layout, railing design, and yard and use considerations. It is a very small investment for a big project, I suggest that anyone building a deck take a look at this book before proceeding.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vastly improved my boring low-end project, September 7, 2003

By 

L. Blackmore (Norwich, VT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Deck Designs: Plus Railings, Planters, Benches (Paperback)

If it hadn't been for this little gem of a book, I'd have ended up with exactly what I thought a deck was: a 10x30' rectangle on stilts outside my back door.

Thanks to the inspiring designs outlined here, I was able to upgrade my $4K do-it-yourself deck with some snazzy details and useful layouts with little additional work and expense. Please do yourself the favor of flipping thru the pages of a book like this - if for nothing else than to see how it can be done by the best designers and builders.

No, just like me you will never be able to afford the hand-sanded grade A redwood beauties that are featured on a couple of these spreads - materials alone would run into six figures. But you will be able to steal the design of the railing, or perhaps the notion of a split level or a nifty little nook for a bench or some other detail from the top end decks. There's enough closeups and sketches of the design to run with a concept that you find appealing, and the narrative will help you think thru the elements of your design that might open up new possibilities.

After reading it from cover to cover a couple of times I shared the book and my comments on post-its with the contractor I had hired to help me complete my project, and it inspired him to come up with some ideas of his own, as well as better understand where I wanted to go with the project.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packs in a wealth of deck design ideas and patterns, March 5, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deck Designs: Plus Railings, Planters, Benches (Paperback)

Deck Designs packs in a wealth of deck design ideas and patterns, featuring designer's unique approaches and their tips on how the deck feature was achieved. Color photos of patterns and decks supplement information on design considerations and details on construction techniques for the homeowner who wants to create his own custom deck.