ok... so, here's the before shot:

and a very quick and dirty drop in of the plan just to see what it will be like...

People that need to control people will end up using whichever system is in place, be it a HOA or a government. tw is a big advocate of state level regulation which we've mostly managed to avoid in PA. Around here we just build. Rural people hate this stuff because we often don't have the economic power or the inclination to have "professionals" do our construction.

You are confusing state level standards with regulations.

For example, those doors open to a drop. Standards dictate that a rail be installed outside those doors so that someone does not open the door and walk off the ledge.

Would those standards be regulated in some way, by someone?

Just referred to by the lawyers after somebody gets hurt.

Seriously, what could happen without permits and inspections? :rolleyes:

Great videos spexx. I especially liked the last one. Anyone stupid enough to think that 1, one 4x4 is gonna support a deck...
I still agree with glatt

Which would mean that regulations for decks aren't unnecessary, and in fact protect you from unscrupulous contractors or ignorant do-it-yourselfers.

Did you miss this part?
Unnecessary regulators suck. :eyebrow:


And as discussed previously there are some serious redundancies involved depending upon where you live.
I never said there should be NO REGULATION.

So anyway Jim, I haven't used Google sketchup that much. I did design a bookcase with it to maximize the size of the bookcase with the wood that I had. It was pretty helpful. Making that virtual bookcase probably took an hour or so, and it only had like 8 pieces of wood in it. How long does it take to make that deck in sketchup? There must be a hundred different pieces. Is there a fast way to draw in all that decking? Like after you make one deck board the perfect dimensions, can you copy it and just keep pasting them in? Or do you draw each one individually?

Do you use a mouse, or that fancy drawing pad you have?

*snort*

I emailed you the file glatt. If you 'save copy as' you can play with it. For some reason it makes the file read only when you email it or upload it. Sketch up does have a feature called 'components' where you could build each type of board and the assemble them.... But I am just figuring that out, and getting the pieces to line up exactly where you want them is frustrating. I just drew it in two dimensions and used the extrude tool to make three d objects. Oh and the mouse is definitely the way to go. The zooming in and out with the wheel is a big part of navigating around the drawing.

It would be really cool to get fast at it and go into business custom creating decks for people. I would need a good crew of carpenters, and a lawyer to cover my ass..... But I bet the rich would love to pay for a Jim Hjelm original deck.... I mean Helm. Especially if they could have input on the design ... I could spend a hour or two consulting and creating it before their eyes in sketch up.... For a moderate fee upfront, of course. And then recommend my crew to make it real, or just consult and or physically contribute further if they decide to DIY...

I'd like that very much. If I had any kind of regular free time I might have a go at that idea. Maybe Bruce (the friend who's deck this is.....and No,not that Bruce.... He has no hugs and kisses for you).... BuT anyway... Maybe he'll tell two friends and They'll tell two friends.....

I made friends with Lois in the Cherry Hill Zoning Office..... Flirting with women in positions of authority is a reflex for me at this point..... So if I can get local gigs maybe .....?


Ah.... It is to dream...

That's where I always had trouble. I think there was a place where you could type in numbers into a box to get things the exact dimensions you want, but it's been a while since I played with it.

Thanks for sending the file. I'mma play with it a bit.

Mr. Clod used Sketchup to design an arcade cabinet he was going to build. It worked like a charm on all those not-perpendicular angles those things have.