The
WORK-IN-PROGRESS page depicts
projects that are either planned or under construction. Here the
predominant visual is the architectural rendering. Clicking on the
rendering gives a large rendering and more information on the planned
structure.
Although many completed original designer arbors are pictured in the
PROJECTS pages, it would be quite educational for you to first preview
the
ARBORS page, where there are links to
the various arbor projects,
for a discussion about the
revolution we have created in California regarding arbors.
I always design
arbors for the particular situation.
There is no printed brochure to send out on arbors
–
this site is my
brochure. If you see something that piques your imagination but is not exactly appropriate
for your situation, then go to the
DESIGN WORK page
and read how you may proceed with Mr. Deck to have something designed
specifically for you. All of the arbors pictured in this website originated under a design-work
contract.
Decks are always custom-built.
Most components such as planters, railings, screens, lattice, outdoor
cabinets and small stairs and short seats are prefabricated in my shop. Stairs and long seats are built on-site.
It would be helpful for you to preview the
DECKS page,
where there are links to the various designer deck projects, for a discussion on the
details that
make a deck a "designer deck".
Although you will see many decks
and arbors in this website
made from redwood, I don't build with redwood anymore. I am only interested in designing and furnishing
materials which will use permanently-colored solid-plastic lumber (made
with 95%
recycled plastic bottles) that requires basic
ally no maintenance, no staining or
painting and is backed by a
20-year manufacturer's warranty (although given the experience over the
last 20 years, it's projected that these
materials will actually last for at least 50 years).
The deck
in the photo
above is an all solid-plastic deck. For a complete discussion of this
remarkable material, plus
more
photos of showpiece plastic decks, see
PLANKING.
Made from this same solid-plastic material are two
designer spiral-staircases
available in kit form. They have been designed specifically for outdoor use.
For more pictures and information go to
SPIRAL STAIRCASES.
There are other products, unique to Mr. DECK, for
the outdoors that are also available, such as
designer trellises, arbors
and fold-down wall tables that are made predominantly from solid-plastic.
There are
floating docks and
outdoor BBQ cabinetry
too. Photos of these items are found in the
PRODUCTS section with links to
complete descriptions of each product.
I have a
CRITIQUES page which is the central link to my inspired ravings:
comics that are based
on some absurd encounters I have had with never-had-a-chance-to-be
customers, and
just off-the-wall email
requests for my free advice.
In searching the web myself to get an idea of how
deep my website is among the many deck-building and builder sites, I have come across
many published photos by so-called
deck-builders
and landscape
contractors whom I found lacking in candor, craftsmanship,
design ability, practical judgment or just plain experience. So I have
copied many of their pictures
to my site
that they offered on the internet as shining
examples of their work for a critical "shoot down." If
you can familiarize yourself with the "bad" ahead of time, you might
better position yourself to recognize when any of it gets shown to you
as an example of someone's so-called expertise.
PHOTOS ON THE
WEB.
Not only that, but a few seemingly upstanding
deck-builders with professional-looking websites have used photos from my website here as their
own! See
PLAGIARIZING WEBSITES. So
all this raises the question," who can you really trust in this business?"
About me
I've been building decks and arbors in California for
25 consecutive years. You can count on one hand the number of contractors
who have comparable experience in this field. Locally, I do all the
journey-level work myself.
I also design and sell decking materials and prefab
products for showpiece decks anywhere in the USA. Anything listed on my
Products page is available country-wide.
For
arbors outside of the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay areas, I design, handle the prefabrication work and ship
arbors to project sites anywhere in California, where
I personally supervise the erection of the structure from foundation to the
finish work. I do all the specification details and oversee all of
the prefab work myself.
I hold a California Contractor license (CA
#469141 active since
'85, classifications B & D41).
I personally manage any Mr. Deck deck project that is being built in
California. I am around to direct the work, lend assistance and provide
special tools and hard-to-get consumable materials like my special
caulking and epoxy filler, in the critical phases.
This website was constructed to exhibit the style and
character of the structures that I can do for you. All of the structures
shown here were designed, engineered and built by me. They are the best of
my many projects. Although the most complex ones were built only in the
last 10 years, over the 25 years of building outdoor structures my best
project has always been my last one (see the picture below).
Because all of my designs have been timely registered
as US architectural copyrights, any infringer will be mandated to pay my
legal fees in prosecuting them. By copyright, they are protected from being reproduced
by anyone else for at least the next 75 years
–
unless of course, they
have a contract with MR. DECK or my designated agent.
Any single unique
design element cannot be legally copied or incorporated into another
structure without an explicit granting of permission in writing. No one at
this time is at liberty to reproduce the arbors depicted on this website,
including any contractor or architect.
Click here
for list of Architectural Structure Copyrights.
I became 68 years old at the end of November 2008.
In two years, arbors like these will be relegated to architectural
history because of all these architectural copyrights. So if you want
one of these designer arbors, you have until the end of 2010 get one. I
plan to migrate to a less rigorous career at 70.
If these designer structures are
not in your budget, I can still provide you with a simpler prefabricated
arbor which you can have delivered and erected by a local contractor.
Click here for more info.
You may find out how to contact
me at the bottom of the
CONTACT
page.
Thanks for coming by.
Robert Francis Hauck Jr.
(a.k.a. Mr. Deck)
