Build a beautiful custom patio or walkway with the step-by-step, photo-illustrated guidance of BLACK+DECKER The Complete Guide to Patios – 3rd Edition. A patio is the hub and heart of any yard. It’s the hard, flat, well-drained surface where you can comfortably enjoy the sunshine, feel a cool breeze, relax with a cold beverage, or hang around the barbecue with your friends and family. Luckily, patios are relatively easy to design and install yourself, and don’t require a lot of expensive tools and complicated techniques. BLACK+DECKER The Complete Guide to Patios – 3rd Edition guides the way with easy-to-follow instructions to plan and complete virtually any patio or walkway undertaking you can think of. An extensive materials and design section helps you wrap your head around all the upfront planning, and the 30+ patio, walkway, and landscape projects are illustrated with detailed photographs to guide your progress. From flagstone to interlocking pavers or plain gravel, all options are covered, as well as design tips, excavation advice, how to install a subbase, and how to install the most popular surfacing products. You’ll also find a substantial section on earth-friendly patios that make use of recycled materials and keep water runoff to a minimum, conserving resources and removing pressure from our water-treatment facilities. Discover how to create captivating: Patio and edging projects using sandset brick, cobblestone pavers, mortared flagstones, tiled concrete, and more Earth-friendly patios using recycled plastic pavers, recycled rubber chips, composite permeable pavers, subsurface grids, and more Walkways and steps using sandset brick, concrete, flagstones, gravel, timber, and more Patio rooms and amenities such as an under-deck patio, patio enclosure, screened patio room, and patio kitchen Create the perfect patio for your needs with BLACK+DECKER The Complete Guide to Patios – 3rd Edition and you will truly understand how much enjoyment these humble structures have to give.

A modern twist on a nostalgic favorite Nothing says elegant, genteel living like a well built, well appointed porch or sunroom. The Complete Guide to Porches & Patio Rooms offers design advice and easy-to-follow, concise instructions for adding living spaces that bring the indoors and outdoors together in delightful ways. In addition to offering hundreds of inspirational ideas, the book provides thorough plans and photo directions for six versatile, flexible architectural projects. For the 500,000 homeowners now building sunrooms each year, this book explores the most popular functions and then offers step-by-step instructions to design and build those specific spaces. For example, an open porch can be used for social gatherings, as a sheltered outdoor cooking space, or simply be added simply to improve a home’s curb appeal. A sunroom can serve as a full room addition to a home, complete with protective walls, ceilings, and electrical service; can serve as an indoor garden space for green living plants; or could be put into service as a music conservatory for an elegant grand piano. This book is an indispensable source of information on planning, designing, and building the addition of your dreams, from digging foundations to final decorating.

Love all of your masonry and concrete projects--knowing that you did them yourself!--with help from our experts. No projects offer more aesthetic or financial satisfaction than DIY concrete and masonry projects. Homeowners can routinely save thousands of dollars in labor costs by buying and installing materials that are readily available. This updated 4th edition of Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Concrete & Masonry includes traditional techniques for laying concrete, adapted to make them easy for ordinary homeowners, and also features completely modern materials and techniques, such as tumbled concrete pavers, acid-etching for colored concrete slabs, and important green paving options, such as rain-garden arroyos and permeable pavers. Several cutting-edge projects, like polished concrete countertops and stamped concrete walkways, are included in this book. An exposed aggregate patio, a reinforced concrete block wall, and the latest tools and materials for handling new products are featured. A completely new section on foundation walls shows you all the options, including the latest structural insulated panels, that are now more DIY friendly than ever. No homeowner or do-it-yourselfer will want to miss this chance to master the best methods to create lasting beauty around the house.

Outdoor carpentry projects using cedar, redwood, and pressure-treated pine are perfect for DIYers of all skill levels, since the materials are easy to work with, and the results are rewarding. This book features more than 50 projects that easily can be built in a weekend with ordinary power hand tools and materials available at any local home center or hardware store. Each project has complete construction plans and directions for foolproof results.

"Shows homeowners how to build up, expand, refresh and accessorize their outdoor spaces using the most contemporary techniques, tools, and materials while following the most up-to-date codes"--

Be inspired by new design and follow the latest codes as you custom build the deck of your dreams. Architecture, building codes, and design are not static; they change constantly. That’s why there’s a new edition of the best-selling BLACK+DECKER The Complete Guide to Decks, incorporating updates to national building codes, as well as new developments in building materials and design. Calling attention to composite deckboards and railings, as well as other PVC products made from recycled plastic, the new materials systems featured in this book are environmentally friendly, easy to work with, rot resistant, and very low maintenance. Whether you opt for manufactured deck products or wood, the success of your project depends upon a sturdy deck undercarriage. Accomplishing this isn’t difficult, but building the framework requires that you have the latest information on building codes. In recent years, these codes have changed significantly, affecting everything from post diameter to allowable joist hangers to railing height and even the size of concrete footings. BLACK+DECKER The Complete Guide to Decks Updated 7th Edition is the only DIY deck book that’s fully updated to conform to the latest codes. Chapters covered in the book include: Deck Planning & Design Deck Materials & Tools Structural Support Decking Stairs Railings Accessories Finishing & Maintaining Your Deck Custom Deck Projects Gallery of Inspiring Decks BLACK+DECKER The Complete Guide to Decks Updated 7th Edition offers complete step-by-step photos and instructions, so even homeowners with limited DIY experience are assured of a deck that meets their needs. So, don’t wait any longer; build the deck of your dreams and start enjoying it!

This offering from the successful Build Like a Pro series provides complete in-depth information, step-by-step instructions, focused sidebars, and tips that add up to a professional patio or walkway project that homeowners will enjoy for years to come.