Customer Reviews

Taunton's Deck & Patio Idea Book

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This book has some good designs, but not what I was expecting. I am looking to build a new deck (my first), and want ideas... This book had some fancy ideas, but not too many practical ideas... So if you are looking at a book like this, you are most likely going to pay someone else to do the job... There is nothing wrong with that though.... ;)

Knowing this book was an idea/inspiration publication versus a how-to, I ordered anyway. Yes, the projects were stunning, photography good and the "whys" behind the design concepts made clear. However, if you're looking for more practical and affordable inspiration this isn't the book for you. The price tag on most of the projects would easily hit the 5-figure+ mark. The really clever, out-of-the-box thinking type homeowner could certainly use this book to plan and execute a stunning outdoor space on a smaller scale at a fraction of the cost using non-conventional or lesser quality materials. For middle-class, DIY homeowners (like myself) this is too over the top. I enjoyed reading the book but since I'll never again open the cover, donated it to my small rural library.

Lots of good ideas and pictures like most of Taunton's
design idea books.

Caveats are that
1) very little structural building information included
(to be expected from the series)

2) many of the decks here don't meet code, sometimes very
obviously so (a 20' high deck above whitewater stream and rocks
with just a handrail, no balusters). Almost no mention is made
of what the requirements really are.

A good companion is the free prescriptive design guide for
decks from the American Wood Council. Just search for "DCA6.pdf"