Batter Boards for Dummies - The Freelance Files MMCXXXV

use of batter boards

Every summer, thousands of homeowners decide it's time to build their first deck; and every summer thousands of first-time DIYers research the methods involved. We always hope that those poor schmucks end up finding the help they need from someone who's actually built a deck, preferably a lot of decks; but the sad truth is that if they aren't careful they're gonna end up at eHow.com or one of the niches where eHow's rubbish goes to die. Today, we'll look at the kind of advice freelancers with history degrees; freelancers who likely have never built a deck, can offer: meet Nichole Liandi and her HomeSteady.com post, "How to Use Batter Boards to Square Corner Posts for Deck." And then go look for advice from someone who knows what they're talking about...

Liandi, who's here to collect her 13th DotD (most of them involving wiring, for some reason), cited an offline book as reference. We suspect that's because she actually culled her information from one of the sites blacklisted by eHow's masters, Demand Media Systems.¹ Whatever the case, Nichole had a little problem: she didn't know what she was talking about, so she omitted important information. That's common with eHow's freelancers, by the way.

So where did Nichole get crosswise with facts and logic? Let's have a look. First, there's the matter of the dimensions of the lumber used to build the batter boards:

"Drive three 2-foot tall, 2-by-4 inch stakes into the ground... Nail two 1-by-6 inch boards between the stakes, 12 inches above the ground to complete the corner."

Assuming that the crosspieces are set flush with the tops of the stakes, those 2-by-4s are only driven into the ground 6½ inches... not very secure. In reality, the stakes should probably project 2 feet above the surface and be sunk at least a foot. Then there's Nichole's lackadaisical attitude about layout:

"Attach a string to the house at the end point of the deck. Stretch it out so it's over the approximate location of the first post and tie it to the batter board so the string is tight." Liandi omitted an important aspect of this step: the line from the house must be perpendicular to the wall to ensure proper placement of the corner, especially if building a deck attached to the house with a ledger. Nichole, in her ignorance, didn't know that. She also didn't know how to square the corners, telling her readers, "Tie a second piece of string to the batter board at right angles to where you tied off the first string and stretch it across the first string to the second batter board."

Uhhh, yeah, Nichole: "at right angles." And how do you do that? Well, she probably didn't know (although we do), which is why she blew right past one of the most important reasons for using batter boards!

With brainless advice like that, giving Liandi yet another Dumbass of the Day award is most assuredly a no-brainer.

¹ Demand Media Systems, aka DMS (You can't spell "Dumbass" without "DMS!), is now known as Leaf Group.

DDIY - DECKS