Black & Decker Deck Codes & Standards ─ How to Design, Build, Inspect & Maintain a Safer Deck

Make sure your deck is safe for family and friends with Deck Codes and Standards

Bruce Barker, one of the country's leading authorities on building codes, has turned his eye toward one of his favorite subjects: building decks. Although it's one of the most popular DIY building projects, just about every deck built in the past decade (by pros as well as homeowners) falls short of current codes. In Deck Codes & Standards Barker zeroes in on the main areas of concern and shows accurately and precisely how to design and build it right. Given that every year in the U.S. more than 120,000 people are injured by deck collapses, and more than 50 die, following Barker's careful and detailed advice is the surest way for a homeowner to protect against disaster.

Using the same common-sense approach he used in his bestselling book BLACK+DECKER Codes for Homeowners, Barker isolates the aspects of deck building that are the most frequent sources of trouble and shows--with photos, illustrations, and commentary--exactly how to do it correctly.

Barker's new book is not only for DIYers who are building a brand new deck. National deck building codes have changed significantly in the past five years: 4 x 4 posts are no longer allowed for structural purposes that a few years ago were deemed fine and minimum diameter requirements for concrete posts have doubled in many applications, for instance. If your existing deck is more than two or three years old, you'll want this detailed but accessible volume, too.

Bruce A. Barker is president of Dream Home Consultants, LLC., a Cary, North Carolina based building inspection and consulting firm. He has built or inspected more than 3,000 homes during his 29 years in the construction and building inspection industries. Mr. Barker is a Residential Combination Inspector, certified by the International Code Council. He is also a licensed contractor in Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina.

Mr. Barker is a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). He currently serves on the Board of Directors after prior service as chairman of the Society's national Standards of Practice Committee. He is also vice president of the North Carolina ASHI chapter. Mr. Barker is a frequent contributor of technical articles to ASHI Reporter, Home Energy, Builder News, and other publications. Mr. Barker is also a member of the International Code Council.

Mr. Barker graduated cum laude from the Indiana University School of Business with a degree in accounting. He also graduated from Indiana with an MBA in information systems and studied law at the Indiana University Law School. He is a member of the Beta Alpha Psi and Beta Gamma Sigma academic honor societies. Mr. Barker spent his early career as a consultant with Peat Marwick (now KPMG), an international public accounting and consulting firm, and as the owner of one of the first computer stores in the Midwest.