How to Build a Porch Using Dek-Block Piers

Create a grid on the grass next to your home with three rows and 10 columns of blocks. Designate one end as the front, the other as the back and right and left sides. The back row should be up against your exterior wall if you want to walk out onto the porch from your home. The center of each block in a column should be 16 inches from each other block, except for first and last block in each column, which should be 15 1/3 inches from the other column blocks.

Place the row blocks so that the center of the middle one in the row is 60 inches from the center of the left and right column block.

Use a 12-foot stud laid down in the space on top of the blocks to ensure that the rows and columns are properly aligned.

Place a 12-foot stud in the front and back rows, and then hold another 12-foot stud to the right and left sides to make a simple wood square. The end pieces of all four studs should meet to form a perfect square. Adjust the distance between the blocks if necessary.

Place a 12-foot board across the length of the left column and check the level with the carpenters level place in the middle of the board. If the bubble indicates an unlevel foundation, adjust the blocks by lowering or heightening the soil level under the blocks. When the blocks read level then move to the subsequent columns and level them.

Level the rows the same as you leveled the columns. Be cautious because when you adjust a block in a row you may also now through off the level of the column that it is in. Work back and forth between the rows and columns until you have completely level blocks from right to left and back to front.

Spray the area between the blocks with an all-purpose vegetation killer to avoid having grass and weeds grow beneath the deck. To avoid vegetation from growing back you can add plastic mulch and cover it with rock mulch.

Begin to create the ladder by filling in the rungs, or the rows, with the 12-foot boards. Lay them so that they hang evenly over the left and right side blocks. Move a 12-foot side piece to the ladder at the left end of the rungs and hold it up to the rungs. Check the square at the corners before any nailing. Make any final adjustments to the square to ensure that it is perfect.

Screw two deck screws through the side piece and into each short end of the ladder rungs. It helps to have a partner holding the 12-foot board. Complete the right side of the ladder frame the same way.

Square the 12-foot composite board against the upper right corner, running downward to the lower left corner where it is squared again. It should pass over every rung of the ladder frame. Screw a deck screw into the length of the composite board along the outer frame and spaced between the ladder rungs. Screw two screws 6 inches apart through the composite board and into the rungs. Add the rest of the composite boards to the frame the same way. Make sure the boards are placed snuggly next to one another before screwing them down.