It’s important to realize that decks are not that different from the floors in your home, unless you live on a concrete slab. Unfortunately, you typically don’t get to see how a floor is framed unless ...

Q: I’m facing some building projects. One is a tall deck, another is framing a garden shed, and I need to help a friend with a room addition. I’m wondering about diagonal bracing. I don’t understand ...

Q.The carpenter that built my deck used joist hangers to hold up the joists along the house and at the end of the deck. Are these steel joist hangers approved, and will they stand the test of time?

Are you about to build a deck by yourself? Perhaps you’re going to hire a professional. My guess is you don’t know as much about the process as you should know. Add to the mix the cable TV shows that ...