Like most free online deck design software, Simpson Strong-Tie’s new Deck Planner promises to be quick and easy to use … and mostly delivers on that promise. It is template-based, which means that after a quick online registration, users start with a few basic deck designs, which they then modify using a menu-driven drag-and-click process. It’s very similar to deck design software developed by DIYonline for other manufacturers (which PDB reviewed back in 2013; see Free Deck Design Software), but with a focus on the hardware rather than on decking and railing choices.
I gave the software a quick trial and found it to be a little tricky at first to figure out how to get deck levels, railings, and stairs in exactly the right locations, and it doesn’t really address footing design. You’re also locked into the framing dimensions specced by the software, so there’s no way to adjust spans or the placement of columns and footings, as far as I could tell. These aren’t plans that you would use to show an inspector, or to actually build a deck, for that matter. But it could be a great visualization tool for clients, and the materials list that the software generates is pretty impressive. And it’s fun to rotate the 3D model of a deck around and look at it from all directions.
