Building around a pool deck safely

This was the fourth part of the Createyourdeck.com email series. You'll learn the standard personal safety precautions you must take in order to prevent an accident or injury while building your above ground pool deck.

Before starting your project and during the construction of your pool deck you should always have a "safety first" mentality.

Building an above ground pool deck should be something you really enjoy, but a preventable injury can turn into a bad time quickly.

Here are some standard personal safety precautions to remember:

1. If you don't know how or you're not sure how to do certain tasks or handle certain tools, ask someone who knows.

2. If you need to rent any tools, or buy any power tools, ask a staff member at your local home improvement center for instructions and a demonstration.

3. Wear safety glasses. Especially when using a saw or hammer.

4. Always pay attention to your work. Pay special attention when using a power tool.

5. Wear knee pads when working on one or both knees.

6. Do not leave tools of any sort on top of a ladder.

7. Wear a dust mask when doing any task that raises dust, like sawing.

8. Wear tighter fitting clothes because loose clothes are at risk of tripping you or being caught in machinery.

9. Wear hard-soled work boots, preferably steel toed.

10. Know your ability and your physical limitations. Take breaks.

These are generally accepted personal safety procedures. You might discover more good safety procedures through your own pool deck building experience and research.

Most importantly, by following these general safety rules you will reduce your chances of an accident or injury and go a long way to ensuring that your deck construction remains safe and fun.

There is more on above ground pool deck plans in the free open license ebook "How to Build a Pool Deck".