Check out more from Mark & Theresa in Professional Deck Builder.
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. For example, he cut 6×6 with a 71/4-inch sidewinder, then finished the cuts with a bone-jarring reciprocating saw. He should have used an 81/4-inch wormdrive like the Skil that rides shotgun with me.
![author avatar]()
Related Posts
Tool Kit: Lightweight Hammer
Today, of course, our hammers hang from our belts, and we drive most of our nails with pneumatic tools, so who cares if there is…
25 Oct 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
MyFixitUpLife talk show: Decked out!
May 20: Decked out! Mark & Theresa are talking decks on this week’s show. They’ll be sharing what you need to know to make sure…
22 May 2010
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In 2004, after dominating the market for more than 70 years, wood treated with CCA (chromated copper arsenate) was withdrawn from residential use due to…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
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
What You Need to Know: Deck Builder’s Hammer
Do deck builders really an need axe-handle hammer? Mark talks with Professional Deck Builder Magazine. After all, we’re not framing walls, where a curved handle would…
08 Jun 2014
How to rebuild a deck with two raised platforms for grilling + chilling
Mark and Theresa tear down a crumbling deck and rebuild the deck better for a family of four. They used Waste Management’s Bagster Bags to…
23 Oct 2012
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
81/4-Inch Saw Speeds Up Production
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…
25 Feb 2011
Is it possible to build a deck without a support beam?
Building a deck without a support beam is possible, but not always. Carpenter Mark breaks it down for you.
27 May 2010
So what is new in decking?
I remember when there were roughly a billion fewer choices of deck boards and railing systems. The first decks I worked on as a carpenter’s…
28 May 2008
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
Safety Program
If you’re tempted to skip this article because you think safety is boring, consider that having a safety program might help you and your crew…
26 Feb 2011
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
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
