Deck plans for DIY creators or professional builders, for everything from custom porches and garden rotundas to beautiful pool deck designs.

Your head is full of big home improvement ideas, but where do you go from there? There are some wonderfully inspiring and useful websites which provide you with everything you need to design and build porches and rotundas, or even a backyard pool deck.

There’s a huge selection of deck plans and instruction guides, DIY tips and how-to advice, photographs, online forums and information on where you can find materials, tools and professional services in your area. A lot of the deck plans and other resources can be downloaded absolutely free, otherwise there’s a huge choice of books and CD-ROM’s you can purchase online. Even if you plan to have your decking built professionally, you’ll get a lot of inspiration from the pictures, designs and ideas for porches, garden decks, or perhaps a beautiful pool deck to entertain family and friends.

Deck plans for every kind of outdoor living.

You have a huge choice of options if you plan to add outdoor space to your house or garden.

Porches come in two basic types; open or fully enclosed. An open porch creates an outdoor space right at your doorstep, and is particularly suitable for moderate climates. An enclosed porch gives you a kind of semi-outdoor extension to your home, and has the advantage of allowing you to enjoy the fresh air even when it’s a little wet or windy.

Rotundas are becoming increasingly popular, and are surprisingly easy to build. If your back garden is very exposed to strong sunlight, a rotunda provides shade, while still giving you a breezy, open air feeling, as you’re completely surrounded by the garden.

And of course, nothing beats a pool deck for entertaining friends and having great times with the family in the backyard. There’s a fantastic range of durable decking materials, with added resistance to moisture, weathering, and damage caused by corrosive pool chemicals. The materials are also stylish, and come in a wide range of colors, textures and shapes.