Wood Deck Build No.2: Why I Built It Myself u2014 DIY Dad’s Design Philosophy

u7acau30fbSee the complete Wood Deck DIY Guide

Introduction

Before starting the wood deck DIY project, the very first thing I decided was not the materials or the construction method. It was my design philosophy u2014my thinking about:

• Why am I building this?
• What matters most to me?
• How far am I willing to take personal responsibility?

In this article, I’ll walk through the reasons DIY Dad decided to build the wood deck himself, and the decision-making criteria behind that choice.

The Trigger: Inconvenience in Daily Life

The initial trigger was simple.

• I wanted to hang laundry on the first floor
• I wanted a semi-outdoor space I could use even in the rain
• I wanted a safe place for the kids and dog to spend time

But at the time, the yard was:

• Overgrown with weeds
• Completely unusable
• Just wasted space

Thinking “can I make use of this?” u2014that was the beginning of everything.

Why I Didn’t Hire a Contractor

Of course, I also considered hiring a professional contractor. But the more I researched, the more uneasy I felt.

• The approach to structural strength wasn’t clear
• I couldn’t tell how much engineering had gone into it
• Future repairs and modifications weren’t built into the plan
• It was more expensive than I expected

What bothered me most was the lack of transparency. After completion, I wouldn’t be able to explain:

• Where the weak points are
• How much safety margin is built in
• How to fix it if something breaks

The idea of relying long-term on a structure I couldn’t explain myself made me anxious.

I Didn’t Want to “Build It and Forget It”

What DIY Dad aimed for was not a deck that:

• Gets built once and that’s it
• Looks good on the surface only

What mattered was:

• Will it still be safe to use years from now?
• Can I fix it if something changes?
• Can I assess the situation myself?

In other words: a structure I can manage myself.

Applying Mechanical Engineering Thinking to DIY

Behind this thinking is my background in mechanical design engineering. In engineering, you always ask:

• Where does the load travel?
• What breaks first?
• Is the damage minimized when something does fail?

A wood deck is the same. People stand on it. It takes rain, wind, and snow. It sits outdoors for years. It’s a legitimate structural object. Building it “by feel” was simply not an option from an engineering perspective.

DIY Does Not Mean Cheap

This is a common misconception u2014for DIY Dad, building it yourself does not mean saving money. True, there’s no labor cost or contractor fee. But in return, you take on all of the:

• Planning time
• Research time
• Risk of mistakes

I still chose to build it myself because I wanted to use something I fully understood and was satisfied with. That’s all.

What I Want to Convey in This Series

Throughout this series, I will not:

• Push a single “correct” answer
• Make absolute declarations about what you should do

Instead, I’ll document as clearly as possible:

• How I thought about things
• Why I made each decision
• What the other options were

Next Article

Next up: the overall structure and materials list for the wood deck u2014what components I used, why I combined them that way, and where the structural load-bearing key points are.

[NO.3] Wood Deck: Overall Structure and Materials List

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