A great reference guide for Builders and DIY'ers.

What it is:
A great visible overview of everything you need to know about building decks up to code. For example - guides on height and spacing dimensions, bolt/washer placement, etc. There are tables for things like the maximum deck beam span distance based on the wood species and lumber size. And the back has a very handy metric conversion chart as well as residential deck inspection checklist that covers the gamut from fasteners and flashing, to deck framing and bracing.

What it is NOT:
A book full of blueprint designs for various ways you can lay out decks based on your unique landscape. Nor a book that teaches you how to cut wood, drill a hole, etc. This is focused on deck safety, and even has an appendix full of all the injuries between 2001 & 2016 (I'm not really sure why...but it's there none-the-less)

Overall, it's pretty great for those that want to build a deck the RIGHT way, and avoid injuries. Because you do NOT want to end up a statistic in Appendix 3 during the next book edition LOL

I ordered this book because I have been wanting to build a deck in my backyard for years but don't really know where to start.

Overall, I think this is a good book for a DIY-er who wants to learn about decks in terms of maintenance and needs a starting point for learning how to build a new or replace an existing deck. This book includes plenty of photos that show installation as well as examples of deteriorated components of a deck.

There are good explanations about how to install components of a deck, as well as things to avoid, and code compliance. Since this is published for the USA audience, and assuming that Canadian codes might be slightly different, especially for the northern climes, I think I still need to do a bit more research for my local area.

Under the chapter for Footings and Bracing, he describes in detail about poured concrete footings, but makes no mention of other options. Here in Canada over the last 10 years, Helical Piles has become more and more popular alternative to concrete. Especially for areas that are on the Canadian Shield and basically have to anchor into rock. This new method has also been touted to cause fewer problems. I was hoping to learn more about Helical Piles.

I think this book has given me a lot of information I can use moving forward, and I'm closer to being able to build my own deck.

Thank you Bruce Barker, Black + Decker, Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley for this ARC. The above is my own and personal opinion.