April 18, 2005 -- Verizon superpages.com and Super Handyman Al Carrell offer tips and ideas on how to design, plan and build a backyard deck or patio deck. The article is the fifth of six do-it-yourself home improvement project guides available on Verizon superpages.com, a leading local search site.
Carrell says a backyard deck or patio deck is like having an outdoor room that the entire family can enjoy. And building it can be a fun family project. Before you begin, though, he suggests throwing a backyard party to see whether your proposed deck or patio will be large enough to accommodate the crowd. You can outline the “party area” with a garden hose to simulate the deck or patio you plan to build.
Whether you use deck blocks or a conventional design, Carrell says you should fasten the deck boards with galvanized deck screws or spiral nails to prevent nails heads from popping up. But don’t begin fastening until the entire deck surface is in place.
He also suggests checking out new pier products at your favorite local home improvement center. These can save the trouble of digging holes and pouring concrete.
Carrell, a nationally known expert on home improvement and repair including wood and furniture refinishing, served for eight years as spokesman for The Home Depot. He advises do-it-yourself furniture refinishers to work outdoors or in well-ventilated areas.
In addition to refinishing furniture, other topics covered in the six-week do-it-yourself series on Verizon superpages.com include plumbing, energy saving, painting, furniture refinishing and how to assemble a basic tool kit.
Carrell’s newspaper column, “The Super Handyman,” appears in about 100 cities including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Phoenix, Tucson, Orlando, Fort Wayne, St. Louis and Nashville. He also has a weekly radio show in the Dallas-Fort Worth market.
About Verizon superpages.com
Verizon Information Services, a division of Verizon Communications Corp. (NYSE: VZ), is the nation’s most advanced provider of yellow pages and related shopping information. It has $3.6 billion in revenues from products including: Verizon SuperPages yellow pages; Verizon superpages.com (http://www.superpages.com), the nation’s number 1 Internet directory and a leading online shopping resource; and the SuperPages On the Go information directory offered through Verizon Wireless Get It Now services and on other wireless carriers. The company is the largest publisher of Hispanic directories in the U.S. and the first to provide a Hispanic online shopping resource (http://www.superpages.com/espanol).
