Black & Decker Deck Codes & Standards: How to Design, Build, Inspect & Maintain a Safer Deck

Make sure your deck is safe for family and friends with Deck Codes and Standards

Bruce Barker, one of the country’s leading authorities on building codes, has turned his eye toward one of his favorite subjects: building decks. Although it’s one of the most popular DIY building projects, just about every deck built in the past decade (by pros as well as homeowners) falls short of current codes. In Deck Codes & Standards Barker zeroes in on the main areas of concern and shows accurately and precisely how to design and build it right. Given that every year in the U.S. more than 120,000 people are injured by deck collapses, and more than 50 die, following Barker’s careful and detailed advice is the surest way for a homeowner to protect against disaster.

Using the same common-sense approach he used in his bestselling book BLACK+DECKER Codes for Homeowners, Barker isolates the aspects of deck building that are the most frequent sources of trouble and shows--with photos, illustrations, and commentary--exactly how to do it correctly.

Barker’s new book is not only for DIYers who are building a brand new deck. National deck building codes have changed significantly in the past five years: 4 x 4 posts are no longer allowed for structural purposes that a few years ago were deemed fine and minimum diameter requirements for concrete posts have doubled in many applications, for instance. If your existing deck is more than two or three years old, you’ll want this detailed but accessible volume, too.