Allan Staines, the well-known author of the very popular The Australian Owner Builders Manual, The Australian Renovators Manual, How to be a Successful Owner Builder and Renovator, House Building the Easy Hebel Way and The Australian Roof Building Manual, has released his latest book, The Australian Decks and Pergolas Construction Manual. The Australian Decks and Pergolas manual follows the tradition of Allan Staines' previous books in that it covers a large amount of construction detail, is well-illustrated with ink sketches, endeavours to cover its topic as comprehensively as possible and, most importantly, all the information conforms to Australian Codes and requirements. The book is roughly divided into two sections, the first on decks and the second on pergolas. Each section starts with designing and estimating, looking at the different basic designs, the requirements for Council approval, basic terminology and timber qualities such as stress rating and treatment levels. After the preferred design for the deck or pergola has been chosen, there are step-by-step details of its construction, including handrails, balustrades and steps. At the end of the Australian Decks and Pergolas Manual, there are a number of tables, covering post and stirrup footing sizes, deck bearer and stair stringer sizes, roof beam and rafter span tables, design loads of various fastening brackets, cyclonic strength ratings for various components and other information essential to the successful design of a deck or pergola. The Australian Decks and Pergolas Construction Manual is an invaluable reference for any homeowner intending to build, or hire someone to build, a deck or pergola. | 
