How to Build a Shallow Deck

Plant the stakes where the corners of the deck will be. Create an 8 by 10 foot rectangle, tying string between the stakes to create sides. Using the carpenter's square, make sure the corners of the rectangle are perfectly 90 degrees. Adjust the stakes as necessary.

Dig 8-inch by 12-inch holes using the post hole digger, centering on where the stakes were. Add an additional hole in the middle of each 10-foot span. Place plastic tube forms at each hole. The tube form should surround the perimeter of the hole. Press the tube form firmly into the earth.

Mix concrete in the wheelbarrow by adding water in the appropriate proportion, as defined on the packaging. Mix using the shovel in a figure-eight pattern. Work quickly as the concrete will start to harden. Pour concrete into the holes you dug with the post hole digger. Give the concrete time to dry, at least overnight.

Drill holes into the concrete using the drill with a masonry bit that is slightly smaller than the screws you have. Put holes at each point where the post anchors have a predrilled hole. Fasten the post anchors to each concrete footing by putting a masonry screw through the predrilled hole in the post anchor, into the concrete footing.

Cut four pieces of 2-by-6 wood to 10 feet long and four pieces to 8 feet long. Nail the wood together in matching pairs so that you end up with two 10-foot double pieces and two 8-foot double pieces. Lay these double pieces into their corresponding post anchors with the 4-inch side facing up; the 10-foot beams into the anchors along the 10-foot span and the 8-foot beams into the anchors along the 8-foot span. Nail the boards in place by putting nails through the post anchors, into the wood at each point the post anchors have a predrilled hole.

Cut 2-by-6 boards to 7-feet, 8-inches long. Fasten these joists to the frame by putting a metal mounting bracket over each end and putting nails through the predrilled holes in the mounting brackets, into the beams and into the frame. Add a joist every 16 inches, measuring from the center of one joist to the next.

Cut 5.5-by-2 boards to 8 feet long. Lay these boards over the joists and nail them in place by putting two nails through the board and into the joist at each point the board crosses the joist. Start from one side of the deck and work your way over, keeping the boards tightly aligned.

Cut a straight line with the circular saw along the sides of the deck where the ends of the decking boards hang off. This will even out the ends of the deck.

Sand the deck with the power sander, starting with a coarse grit sandpaper and moving to a finer grit. Finish the deck with a waterproofing sealant in a color of your preference.