I learned deck building from a production deck builder. While he could build decks quickly, he could have been even faster if he’d used more task-specific tools.
Related Posts
Mark shares his ‘Lightweight Hammer’ with Professional Deck Builder
If you’re old enough, you remember nailing off decks with fistfuls of hot-dipped-galvanized sixteens. Your bags were loaded with pounds of nails, and your hammer…
26 Mar 2013
Easily Adjustable Toolbelt
A toolbelt is a lot like a spouse: If you choose one in haste, odds are you’ll regret it. MyFixitUpLife Mark & Theresa created this…
28 Feb 2010
Get rid of bushes & limbs while you build with a reciprocating saw
When I’m on a deck or porch site, the way I usually figure out that a scraggly bush needs to be limbed or removed isn’t…
09 Apr 2013
What You Need to Know: New Decking Preservatives
In 2004, after dominating the market for more than 70 years, wood treated with CCA (chromated copper arsenate) was withdrawn from residential use due to…
05 Oct 2008
Mark shares his work glove criteria with Professional Deck Builder
I have specific criteria for work gloves. First, the gloves have to fit, meaning that when I’m wearing them, the answer to the following questions…
16 Apr 2013
Designing a Pergola From the Ground Up
I’ve heard people call a pergola anything from an arbor, a colonnade, or a trellis to “one of those garden things.” But regardless of what…
14 Feb 2009
Check Out the Playground Built in Joplin, MO featured in Professional Deck Builder Magazine!
The combination playground-memorial was designed by Theresa Coleman Clement as part of an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition project in October 2011 that also included building…
18 Jun 2012
Check Out Mark’s ‘Miter Saw Workstation’ Featured in Professional Deck Builder
Miter-saw set-ups can range from just a couple of sawhorses and a truck bed to something so nitpickingly complicated that I would break it in…
19 Mar 2013
Manage Small Parts and Fasteners
It’s been said that the Romans were able to conquer the known world because they were organized. I don’t know if that’s true, but I…
28 Aug 2010
Aggressive Reciprocating Saw Blade
When I’m on a deck or porch site, the way I usually figure out that a scraggly bush needs to be limbed or removed isn’t…
28 Nov 2011
Lightweight Hammer
If you’re old enough, you remember nailing off decks with fistfuls of hot-dipped-galvanized sixteens. Your bags were loaded with pounds of nails, and your hammer…
01 Oct 2011
Tool Review: Bostitch LPF33PT Framing Nailer
TOOL KIT Light and Compact Framing Nailer By Mark Clement Stanley-Bostitch 800/556-6696 bostitch.com Street price: $250 As dependable as screws are for decking, about the…
06 Jan 2013
How To: Time-Saving Deck Guardrails
No matter how you slice it, installing effective, good-looking guardrails takes time. Cutting, plumbing, shimming, and fastening the numerous individual parts is not full-speed, turbo-charged…
03 Aug 2008
Sub compact Loader: Deck Builder’s Dirty Work
The first sub compact loader I ever used arrived by accident. I’d ordered a full-sized skid steer from the rental yard, but instead the delivery…
04 Jun 2009
How to Refurbish an Old Porch
There’s a lot to consider when you set out to refurbish an old porch. They’re challenging, and not just because every porch is different.
26 Feb 2011
