Outdoor

Building a beautiful, functional, and (most importantly) safe deck involves a lot more than intelligent design. The right materials and the right fasteners play a huge role in the safety and stability of your deck. Lag screws in your deck posts are a major piece of the puzzle, securely locking posts and joists together in […]

Believe it or not, there’s more “under the hood” of deck framing than most people realize. Especially when it comes to structural components like your deck posts. Most builders are going to recommend that you avoid notching your posts if at all possible. The less you fiddle with core foundational/structural parts like this the better. […]

A good deck – like every other construction project – starts with a rock solid foundation. You need to be sure that your deck posts are firmly planted in the ground. How deep is deep enough, though? Well, you want to be sure that your footers are set at least 12 inches below the frost […]

Your average wooden deck is going to give you between 10 and 15 years of reliable service. This doesn’t mean that you have to tear the whole thing down after a decade and start fresh, though.  No, it usually means you have to give it a close inspection, repair and replace parts as necessary, and […]

Building a deck for the first time can be a real head scratcher. Especially when it comes time to figure out critical components of your deck framing – like how close a deck post can be to your home.  As a general rule of thumb, you want to keep your deck post spacing locked into […]

There’s a lot to be said about the value of shade in your favorite summer hangout spot around the house. Sunsetter awnings are highly valued because of the ease of installation, the shade that they provide during hot, summer months, and their longevity.  The standard warranty on a Sunsetter awning covers you for about ten years, however, awnings […]

Throwing some awnings, even if they’re small and only fit for your windows, is a great relief for patios and window areas that catch a lot of light from the sun. Unfortunately, if you don’t practice some preventative maintenance on them, they’ll get ugly pretty quickly. Especially if mold or mildew sets in. Wet and […]

Are you getting ready to build a deck but aren’t sure of how – or even if – your deck posts need to be centered on the piers sunk into the ground?  While code enforcement is going to tell you that you need your post centered on footings (according to the 2021 IRC, anyway), those […]

Everyone is looking for ways to save money in keeping their deck looking fresh. With the price of lumber and treated wood skyrocketing, many homeowners are forced to look at flipping the deck boards to get more life out of them.  Flipping deck boards means you unfasten them and turn them over so the weathered […]

Wood can look wonderful with a good, solid stain. It can look unprofessional when the stain is blotchy. There are several reasons for the blotchiness and there are ways to repair it.  Why does your deck stain look blotchy? The underlying reason your deck stain is blotchy is that wood grains absorb at different rates. […]