5 Tips for a Durable Deck

Matt Risinger of the Build Show explains some of the details his Austin, Texas-based company used on a poolside deck to avoid water damage. It’s a bit of an unusual project, since the deck is attached to a masonry retaining wall rather than a wood-framed structure, which leads to some questions about the deck ledger connection. Risinger also mentions the use of 1-inch lengths of PVC pipe as spacers to provide a drying air gap between the ledger and house framing, a practice that isn’t allowed by code (on this project, he uses washers to space the ledger away from the masonry). But he’s right to focus on water management as key to a long-lasting deck, and he’s really raising the bar for contractor-produced content with his video production values.