But there is much to think of when preparing to build a deck. A poorly built deck can be a disaster. Following are 10 things to consider before you build your deck.

1. Purpose

First of all, what is going to be the primary purpose of your deck? Entertaining guests — you’ll need to consider how many guests you want the deck to hold, because more guests equal more weight. A play area for small children — safety is essential. Whatever your intended purpose, think it all the way through before starting to build.

2. Location, Location, Location

The next thing to consider is the location. Landscaping issues may crop up exactly where you think you should place your deck. You should consider entrances and exits to your home. Access to your deck is essential — if you can’t get there, you can’t enjoy it.

3. Deck Plan

You will need to have a deck plan, which will serve as a guide for the entire project. It doesn’t require a professional work-up, but you should be thorough.

4. Attaching Deck To Your Home

There are many ways that a deck can be attached to your home. Although the deck can be freestanding, it is not very practical or safe. If you decide to attach your deck to the house, you will need to decide how you will cut away the siding at the joining point. You will also need to determine if the framing of your home is strong enough for the deck.

5. Deck Supports

Deck supports are an important part of this process, so you will need to decide exactly how many footings and posts you will need, and where to place them.

6. Decking Material

What type of decking material do you plan to use? Composite decking materials are a good choice because they have been chemically engineered to avoid the problems of traditional wood. However, if wood is your choice, redwood, cedar and pressure treated pine are all popular because they resist rot and decay. If you choose another wood decking material, you will often need to provide protectant and sealant material.

7. Permits

Remember, different areas have different zoning laws and requirements so it is important to find out what permits will be required to build your deck in your area. While some areas require an official building permit, others will require only a periodic site inspection. Some require both. Check with your city government to decide what actions you need to take.

8. Tool Time

Make sure you have all the tools on hand that you will need for the project. There may be additional expenses added to the project to buy these tools. If you do not have this kind of experience, you should consider the next point very carefully.

9. Professional Help

Decking is a big project to undertake if you are a weekend handyman. If you have little construction experience, decking is not a good beginning learning project. Poorly built decks are very dangerous. If you cannot handle the project, it needs to be in the hands of a professional.

10. Extras

The final thing to consider is any extras you might want to build into and onto your deck. You might add a decorative handrail or you might want flower boxes on each corner, or perhaps built-in seating for your guests. Whatever extras you choose will personalize your deck.

All Decked Out

Although building an outside deck can be a huge undertaking, it is a great place for many activities — sunbathing, barbecues with friends, a safe place for the children to play, or a hot tub. To name a few.

Visit Home Landscaping to learn more. Ron King is a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer, visit his website at Articles for authors.

With other forms of do it yourself instructions, here are the most basic instruction to install your beloved sliding barn doors. Larger sturdy doors can also be used on larger barns, but the usual thickness is of 1 3/4″ and 3/4″tongue and groove.

With the materials needed, here are the most common tools you should have. You don’t need to be too exact with them; anything equal to them can also be usable. Also, the bolts and nuts included in the door, you will need the following items:

1. Goggles and protection gear, level, tape measure, socket wrench, the sliding barn doors and other needed materials (bolts, spacers and other mounting items), saw, drill, awl, wooden mounting board, router, and paint.

2. When starting out, you need a couple of men to do the job. You can hold track of the support of the door to get a mounting board but with a slightly bigger size the track to be installed. The drywall anchors, bolts, spacers are the ones that will hold the track and the roller to be in place. You can alternatively paint the mounting board to your desired color to match the door color.

3. You can now assemble the steel track. With the joint brackets placed according to the specifications of your barn door. You need to cut a track for the width amount needed, this must be double the girth of its door to permit the door to be opened entirely to the size of the actual width.

4. The next step is to measure the drill holes that you need to put the steel track. When they are to be attached, you need to use the awl to create a space for the drill to remove the occurrence of slipping while drilling. Here is the part where you need to wear the goggles as metal will get hot.

5. You will now measure the track, make sure they are aligned with the use of a level. The next is to install the track along with the spacers to the board and use the bolts.

6. Attaching the hanger roller and be sure to follow your doors’ instructions, you will now install the bolts, washers, and other nuts. You can get tighten them with the use of a socket wrench. The next is to attach the bottom roller guide and you can hang the door and you’re all done.

You can practically save more money if you follow this guide. But be sure to get more persons to help you out to make sure they can help you out on other things. Also, having a good sliding barn door can be obtained along the internet or just canvass well and get a cheaper but sturdy door for your liking.

For tips on choosing sliding doors, visit http://www.slidingdoors101.com

Framing is the structural skeleton of your house. The drawing at
the top indicates the important framing members of any of the
cottages. The most important elements are the sill, header,
joists, girders, sole, flooring, studs, plate, and rafters.
Let’s take a look at these parts.

Except in the case of concrete slab construction, the sill is
the first wood member to rest on the foundations and will be the
first wood member you will put down. The sill is usually a
2-by-4-inch piece. In pier construction you will note that I
have occasionally used a 2-by-6-inch member. This is because the
header is made up of two pieces 2 inches thick, instead of one,
as shown in the illustration.

Sills form a bearing surface for the undersides of joists. They
should be bolted to the slab or wall foundations. If you are
using pier foundations, it is important that you first put down
the sill around the building, then spike the inner header to the
sill from the underside. After this is done, lay out the joists
and securely spike the inner header to them.

At the corners, stagger these two parts. Then spike the outer
header to the inner one, overlapping at the staggered corner
edge. What you have done is to build a girder with a resting
place for the joists.

Headers, except as noted above, are usually 2 inches thick and
the same width as the joists. They run around the outside
perimeter of the building and help keep the joists in a vertical
position. They also help to transmit the roof and wall loads to
the foundation.

The notched joist arrangement is used when no sill is provided.
The blocking provides a bearing spot for the joists. If you use
pier foundations, be sure to follow the sectional drawings for
each cottage, because this header may actually be a girder
around the outside of the building.

Also be sure that the joists are securely spiked to the header.
Try, as far as possible, to make the headers of one continuous
piece of material. If this isn’t possible, be sure to join the
pieces over the center line of one of the piers.

Joists members are what your flooring will rest on. The sizes
applicable to each building are shown in the sectional and plan
drawings. In most cases they are 2-by-6-Inch members laid 16
inches on center. I have tried to design all the camps so that
it will not be necessary to cut most of the joists.

They are standard lengths which you can purchase from your local
lumberyard. Because the joint spans are short, it isn’t
necessary to bridge the members. However, if you want a really
good job, put l-by-3-inch pieces of lumber between joists as
shown in the sketch at the side. You can also buy metal bridging
if you would rather use it.

Bridging is usually done every 8 feet along the length of the
joist. The floor joists are typically designed to take a uniform
load of 40 pounds. The fiber stress (f) is 900 or over. Don’t
worry your head about these figures.

What it means to you is that you should use Douglas fir (Coast
Region or Inland Empire), West Coast hemlock, Western larch,
Southern yellow pine, redwood, oak, or any other wood having the
necessary characteristics. Most yards carry either Douglas fir
or hemlock for framing purposes.

Author Info:

About the Author: Jack Hudson is a writer for http://www.log-cabin-plans-n-kits.com and http://www.best-house-n-home-plans.com/. These two sites work collectively as a resouce for the planning and building of log cabins as well as choosing from different house plans. Visit one of these sites for informative articles as well as free TIPS for building a log home or choosing a house plan.

It’s hard to imagine it just from the house plan itself, but a large portion of the total cost to build a luxury home goes into finishes and details. Features ranging from the basics such as materials for flooring or walls all the way to appliances, kitchen counters, a fireplace, etc. can add a lot of money to your total costs.

When you’re thinking about going with a luxury house plan, keep in mind that you should take a good look at whether you can afford what the plan and sample drawings or pictures seem to promise. Ultimately, if your finishes can’t keep up, your new home won’t feel as luxurious as you might have hoped.

A way to get around financial constraints and perhaps even have your cake and eat it too is to be smart about which features and details to add immediately and which ones to add on later. Some things can be added or replaced much more easily than others at a later point in time. Some appliances for example can easily be swapped, especially if they come in standard sizes or are not too tightly integrated (e.g. a free-standing fridge is easy to replace). You can also put basics in place, such as plumbing, wiring or chimneys to be “feature-ready”, so that you can add a jacuzzi, fireplace, or home theater later with ease, and in the meantime use the space in a way that doesn’t give away the fact that you still have bigger plans for it.

On the opposite end, some things are messy, expensive, and painful to change once they are in place, such as plumbing, wiring, flooring, walls, ceilings, windows, kitchen cabinets, etc. Try to get these things right the from the start, to save money and to avoid living in a construction site long after your home is supposed to be finished.

So, before you buy you luxury house plans, keep in mind that the devil (and dollar) really is in the details. Make sure to think through your final vision of how you want to live and how much money will have to go into the interior. Ultimately, the interior is what you will experience every day, and finishes and details really make or break a luxury home.

Find more information on luxury house plans on our website free house plans, where we provide practical information for people in the complex process of choosing house plans for their dream homes.

STEP 1 - POLE BARNS PLANNING. You’ll need to decide how big your pole building will need to be, and then adjust your overall measurements slightly to be a multiple of standard buidling material supply lengths. This design tip alone will save you hundreds of saw cuts and carpentry time. You’ll also need to decide if your pole barn will require concrete slab foundation inside, or if a dirt floor is all you need. If you plan to construct your own pole barn we highly recommend you spend the $10 to purchase a decent pole barn plan - this will save you many headaches and dramatically speed up your construction time.

STEP 2 - POLE BUILDING SUPPLIES. All of the necessary supplies for a basic pole barn can be sourced from your local building supply store. You’ll need some concrete mix for the post footings, and more if you decide to pour a concrete floor slab. You’ll also need treated posts, your preferred siding material, 2 x 4’s, nails, fasteners, and your preferred roofing material. To speed things up you can pre-order roof trusses, or buy gusset fasteners to build your own.

STEP 3 - RAISING THE BARN! Once the concrete has set in the footings you are ready to begin framing the post skeleton of your building plan. This is a very simple process that is simply repeated until all the post framing is completed. Once the frame is in place you can attach the outer siding to the frame. From there you can move to the roofing truss installation, roof framing and roof finishing. Popular choices for both siding and roofing are metal because its light, durable, cheap, and won’t rot or rust over its lifetime.

There you have it! Within a weekend you can construct and raise your very own pole barn. For those of you that might need a little more direction or help we strongly suggest you follow a plan for building pole barns, or even consider ordering a pre-cut pole barn kit.

S.A. Smith is a freelance writer, contributor, and editor of the Pole Barns Kits information portal which reports on the latest pole building construction news and developments in the wood and metal storage building industry.

The Doubell Jumbo MKII Block-maker shows how easy bricks & blocks can be made - a very good opportunity if building units are in shortage or too expensive

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But I had a dream. I knew this house was a diamond in the rough. My vision included gutting the kitchen for a gourmet kitchen I could teach out of. We got rid of the family room to make the kitchen and eating area more like a great room. We eventually put laminate flooring all over the house, upstairs and down which made cleaning up after the kids a breeze. The kids are all upstairs and my husband and I have a suite downstairs. Dan finally gave in when I told him that we could view the stairs from our room so that any female teen aged child of ours who attempted to bring a male teen aged child up the stairs would be seen and shot! Just kidding. But the house seemed just right.

This is what I did to the kitchen:

1. Had a 5 foot by 10 foot dual level-island installed. There is granite on the top, custom wood cabinets on the bottom with plenty of storage and electrical, an extra-deep double stainless sink with an instant-hot water faucet, two built in soap dispensers and a button for the garbage disposal. One side of the island has three pull out baskets where I store onions, potatoes and squash and plastic ware, set vertically and on the other side is my proud invention of a cooling rack. It is made of aluminum inside and has 5 racks. The door has mesh so that the hot items placed on the cooling rack won’t steam. Finally, I have four stainless steel bar stools and an additional 8 checkerboard bars stools that I use for classes.

2. I put in two self cleaning, extra-wide electric conventional/convection ovens and a warming drawer. I use my double ovens several times a week. Sometimes I even wish I had a third! The warming drawer comes in handy during my classes or dinner parties to keep plates or extra food warm.

3. I put in deep, large storage drawers for pot lids and small appliances like a juicer and spice grinder.

4. I had butcher block cutting boards installed in two areas of my kitchen, one right above the trash and one on the other side of the kitchen. The one over the trash works well because I can toss the remains of anything I’m preparing easily. The other cutting board is nice, specifically when my kids are cooking with me because it is just out of the way that I can still watch what they are doing but they are not in my way of whatever I am preparing. Also, the second cutting board sits below my appliance garage which houses the mixer, food processor and vacuum sealer. The appliance garage has an outlet but the cutting board allows me to pull the appliances out when I am using them.

5. My favorite toy is my pot filler. I think now pot fillers are standard in custom kitchens, but when I installed mine five years ago, the contractor looked at me funny. The pot filler is a cold water spout on a pivoting arm that extends the area of my six burner Viking range top. I can put a stock pot on any of the burners and fill them with water. I use the pot filler all the time. It protects my back because I don’t have to fill and left the filled pots from my sink to the burners.

6. I added a wine glass and bottle holder above, a plate rack setting ten dinner plates within reach, some book shelves to show off some of my favorite cookbooks, and a shelf for alcohol where I keep my Sherries, Madeira’s, and cognacs.

7. I choose all stainless steel appliances. My close friend, who is a CIA trained chef and married to another CIA trained chef says that she hates stainless appliances because it reminds her too much of industrial kitchens. Well, I never tire of the look. I do not care that there are handprints on it. This just lets visitors know that my kids are around.

I do not mind that they are not magnetic because all the magnetic stuff just clutters the kitchen. I don’t even mind the water stains in the sink. That just proves how much I use it. I do not have time to wipe it down because it is constantly in use.

When I prepared to have the kitchen redone, I acted as my own general contractor. I read up on all my sub contractors to make sure that none were in bad standing. I took the proper insurance precautions to make sure that I was covered in case of an accident. I kept on top of all the subs that they were sticking to my time frames and incentivized them financial to finish on time. Being 7 months pregnant was my incentive to have the job done in 3 months. I cleaned out my dining room and living room and converted them into a kitchen during the construction. I had my fridge, microwave, gas camping burners, shelves for food and plastic ware, and my laundry room sink for washing dishes. It worked out nicely.

I love my kitchen. There are a few things I would do differently, but that is for another article.

Dawn R Walker, Chef and Mom of Four Delicious Girlies. To see pictures, please visit my site at http://www.chefdawn.com

Make sure you put the barn on a concrete slab. I looked at the ranch style barn which was quite good.The walls are not made from boards like in a regular house, but from 6 inch poles and so uses less lumber and is cheaper.

Make sure the design of the barn is State certified and meets all lega requirements. You can self build the barn although best to get specialists in a do it properly. I worked on one barn with a solar powered drill, it’s good that the barn has a low carbon emmision or footprint or whatever.