How to Build a Deck Without Tying It Into the House

Plant stakes where you want the corners of the deck to be. Create an 8-foot by 10-foot rectangle with the stakes. Tie string in between the stakes to mark where the sides of the deck will be. Use the carpenter's square to ensure that the corners of the planned area are perfect 90 degree angles.

Dig holes 8 inches wide and 12 inches deep with the post hole digger, centering on the places where the stakes are. Dig an additional two holes in the middle of the 10-foot span. Place a plastic tube form around the edge of the holes, pushing it about an inch into the ground, to create a seal between the edge of the hole and the tube form.

Pour concrete mix into the wheelbarrow one bag at a time. Add water, following the proportions on the packaging. Mix it with the shovel in a figure-eight pattern. Work quickly, as the concrete is already starting to dry.

Pour the mixed concrete into the 8-by-12 holes. Allow the concrete time enough to dry, as defined on the packaging. Leave it at least overnight. Remove the tube forms from the concrete footings. You may have to break them to remove them -- that's fine.

Place a post anchor on top of a concrete footing and drill into the concrete through the predrilled holes in the post anchor. Use a bit that is slightly narrower than the masonry screws you bought. Fix the post anchor to the concrete block by putting masonry screws through the predrilled holes in the post anchor into the holes you just drilled. Repeat this for each of the concrete footings.

Cut four 2-by-6 boards to 8 feet in length and four 2-by-6 boards to 10 feet in length using the circular saw. Nail the boards together in matching pairs, creating four two-ply beams. Two 8-foot boards will be nailed together, and two 10-foot boards will be nailed together.

Lay the two-ply beams in their respective places in the post anchors -- the 10-foot beams in the 10-foot span and the 8-foot beams in the 8-foot span. The 4-inch side of the beams should be facing up. Nail them in place by putting nails through the predrilled holes in the post anchor, into the beam.

Cut 2-by-6 boards to 7-feet, 8-inches long. Nail these joists in place within the frame by putting a mounting bracket around the end of the joist, putting nails through the predrilled holes in the bracket and into the joist. Then place the joist within the frame, with the bracket up against the 10-foot beam. Put nails through the predrilled holes in the bracket into the 10-foot beam. Do this on both ends of the joist. Put in a joist every 16 inches along the 10-foot beam, measuring from the center of one joist to the center of the next.

Cut 2-by-6 boards to 10 feet lengths. Lay them perpendicularly across the joists and nail them into place by putting two nails through the decking board, into the joists at every point the board crosses the joist. Start from one side and work over, keeping the decking boards tightly aligned. Trim the edges of the deck straight by cutting a straight line across the edge of the deck where the ends of the decking boards hang off, using the circular saw.

Sand the deck using the power sander, starting with a coarse-grit sandpaper, moving up to a finer grit. Finish with a waterproofing sealant in a color of your preference.