Deck Design Tools

[moparfreak]

So I've begun some design work on a deck on the back of my house I plan to install targeting next spring, and as many decks are its a bit of an odd shape, as it has to conform to the back of our house and the backyard.

I want to draw this up in detail and get a good material list set as I get ready for the build, and figured I could use one of the numerous online deck design tools. To my dismay, after trying 4 or 5 of them they are all so flawed. If you need any type of shape different from a basic square you're screwed. There is no flexibility whatsoever to merge shapes, combine levels, etc.

I've tried the Lowe's, Menards, Azek/Timbertech, Decks.com, all with the same basic results. Anyone have any luck or experience with this type of thing.

Yes, I've actually used Sketchup for a number of my woodworking projects in the past and that is my go to backup plan, but as infinitely customizable Sketchup is, it's also a lot more time investment. If I have to do it I'll do it but figured maybe it's worth an ask to find a program out there.

 

[gahrajmahal]

Hi moparfreak, sadly that was my experience with it too. I also attempted to use sketch up and found it to be extremely time consuming. I resorted to good old pen and paper. Order several deck building books from your library, check with your township planning commission too for permit requirements. Good luck.

 

[cowboy73]

Try drawing up your plans on graph paper. Make each square equal to a 4 inches. Might have to tape a few sheets together to get a large enough plan. My dad designed his house that way.

 

[moparfreak]

I think I'm going to go ahead w/ sketchup anyways. It's proven quite useful for showing my wife what it'll look like, proportions, etc. Sitting down and going through a big set of graph sheets with my scribbles on it showing 2D views is probably going to cause marital problems.

 

[mikehaugen]

A little off-topic, but does anyone have any insight about the amount of data-usage the web-based sketchup consumes? I live in the boonies with no option for high speed internet except the 4g plan that I have. It is reasonably fast, but data hungry browsing (videos) consume my month allowance pretty quickly.

Sent from my SM-G930V using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[mikeb27]

I used SketchUp for my deck design and build last year. Was able to use the 3D images for permit as well, and color-coded boards to help my ordering process.

 

[moparfreak]

I used SketchUp for my deck design and build last year. Was able to use the 3D images for permit as well, and color-coded boards to help my ordering process.

That looks fantastic! Very good inspiration. I'm pretty much 100% gonna go this route, so will get started shortly. It'll give me a chance / opportunity to play around with some of the more architectural capabilities (changing views & coloring schemes, etc).

 

[gahrajmahal]

Mikeb27, question? Did you use the free version or the paid one? Your plans look really great. It was a few years ago I was messing with it and they could have improved it since then.