Winner: Scott Kendall - Deck of the month August, 2009

 I used the deck blocks and they worked perfectly.  The top level is 24 deep x 26 wide and the lower level is 10 deep x 14 wide.I go the idea for the BBQ area and chimenea spot of other decks on the showcase.  The plans made it easy to determine what materials I needed. Thanks, for all the help.

Winner: David Elswick - Deck of the month July, 2009

My yard was severely sloped. In order to put in the pool we had to put in two retaining walls. The 1st retaining wall is only 3” behind the pool.

We built the deck right up to the retaining wall. So the height of the deck plus the height of the retaining wall, makes it a long drop off the back of the deck.

Winner: Gary Morris - Deck of the month July, 2009

I bought this little house in 2000 and always planned on having a deck and hot tub.  Most of Austin is on 3 inches of hard soil over a deep limestone shelf.  Digging holes for any reason is a challenge if not impossible, so I was very interested in the floating deck system when I first saw it at Home Depot. 

Winner: Steven Chenevey - Deck of the month June, 2009

I would like to thank your company for your excellent product, and great website. I do not like wood working projects and usually do everything to avoid them. I have little to no experience either. I had never built a deck, or even assisted in the building of one. My wife and I built this entire deck using a worn out circular saw, a 3' level, a cored 3/8" drill motor, and a hammer.

Winner: Casey and Krista Orr - Deck of the month May, 2009

From picking up the supplies until the last screw was drilled took a total of 4 days.  My Brother In Law and I picked up the deck piers and lumber on Thursday night and had the entire project completed (except for staining) by Sunday at 8:00pm.

Winner: Dave Safian - Deck of the month April, 2009

I chose the deck block design because I knew I would do the majority of the work by myself. Constructing was very manageable with minimal assistance from my wife and friends. I also needed something that could be placed over large rocks out back that formed a step for our sliding door.  At first a friend and I tried to bust up the rocks and carry them away, but it turned out to be too difficult. I instead used the Deck Block system to float the deck right over the rock, making it part of the support structure.

Winner: Joshua Fernandez - Deck of the month March, 2009

I want to thank you for all the help you give on your website.  I had seen your advertisement at Home Depot by the Dek blocks.  I wanted to build a deck but didn’t know how I was going to do it.  Your website gave me the floor plans and building material list, in which I had not one piece of wood left after the project was done.  I took some photos, it took a Friday thru Sunday to finish.  It was a 4 man job on Friday which only took 3 ½ hour to lay down the deck platform. 

Winner: Casey & Jessica Shaffer- Deck of the month February, 2009

Layout of dek blocks began in early April, all materials were purchased at HomeDepot.  We chose to use 2 x 12’s throughout the build because they gave us the right height to our slider without cutting 4 x 4’s to adjust for height.  We set a number of the anchors on concrete patio pavers anywhere a height adjustment was needed.  Deck size is 25 x 15.

Winner: Matt Pope - Deck of the month January, 2009

Hello! I built this deck in the fall of 2008. It is in Duluth, Minnesota overlooking Lake superior. It is about 58" at the highest point (base of Dekblock to top of surface board).

Winner: Tom Kolendra - Deck of the month December, 2008

I am 68 years old and I don't do much hard work. I had some sore mussels but it felt great. I can't wait until spring because I have two more to build. It was easy with Free  Deck Plans. Thank you.

Regards,
Tom Kolendra

Winner: John Stewart - Deck of the month November, 2008

I am attaching three jpg files of photos of the 16'x24' deck I built single handedly. If needed, I can send "in progress photos".

Thanks. I found the blocks very easy to use and avoiding the "dread" of digging holes. The deck is very solid feeling under your feet.

Winner: Anthony Zito - Deck of the month October, 2008

As u can see I built the first section last year (already stained) then added the rest this year. Post blocks worked great. Even the dog loves it. hope you post this. 
We love our Splash pool. 

Winner: Horace Merriman - Deck of the month September, 2008

This summer, my wife and I used your plans for the 12'x12'(2"x6"decking) side pool deck plans. I just wanted to take the time and thank you guys for making plans even a novice like me can follow. I did modify the plans by squaring off the ends and placing the steps nearer to the pool.

Winner: Johnny Ortiz - Deck of the month August, 2008

I began this project in the summer of 2006 using your 16X16 side pool deck plans for my 18 ft round pool.  After much deliberation & disagreements with my wife, I decided to go with the composite decking after I promised her I would break up the cost of the decking by buying the material as needed & working on it on my days off.

Winner: Fernandes - Deck of the month July, 2008

This is my first deck. I was looking for something that I thought I could take on for my vacation project. I came across deck blocks and the idea of not having to dig footings sounded great, as you can see from the pictures I think I did a pretty good job.

Winner: Alex Donaldson - Deck of the month may, 2008

Here is my deck submission.  I was glad for dek blocks because digging any further than 1 foot down is shale.  Let me know if you have any questions or want other photos.

Winner: Orland Snedeker - Deck of the month January, 2008

I would like to tell you about the floating deck that I built from your designer plans.  I chose “The Brendel - mirrored” plan (from website www.customdeckplans.com) and added three feet to the length.  I did all the work by myself.  I was able to level the 16’ boards by placing on blocks and using different sizes of wood scraps.  I then placed my permanent blocks and  4 x 4 supports and continued placing the rest of the supports, measuring and cutting each post.  This deck has 91 blocks supporting it.  I used premium coated screws for all the construction. 

Winner: Dan Rediger - Deck of the month December, 2007

This is a 20’ X 36’ deck, which is a little over 700 sq. ft.  I’m 24 years old and just bought my first house last January.  As soon as I bought the house I decided that I really wanted a deck.  I’m an engineer by trade so I decided that I was going to design and build the deck myself.  Having never done this before I relied heavily upon this website as well as some good books that I purchased.  Being that the deck I wanted to build was so large, I knew that I needed very detailed plans. 

Winner: Michael Dulay - Deck of the month September, 2007

The project was started June 28, 2007, just seven weeks after my daughter was born. It took approximately under 2 months to complete the project. I worked on it almost everyday from 8 am to noon, and 3 to 6 pm for the first month then a couple of hours a day. I’m grateful to have a wife who put up with me on this project, never gave me a hard time when I worked on them. I didn’t just work on the deck the whole summer, I kept up with my responsibilities too as a husband and a father.

Winner: Alfonso Pereira - Deck of the month August, 2007

I wanted to improve the backyard of our new house in Forest Grove, Oregon, since all we had was a rather small concrete pad.

I started by laying down a gravel base where our new deck would be.  The deck is 24' wide (along the house) and 18' deep at the deepest point.  The main deck is built in three 8' wide sections connected by joist hangers.