My name is Rick Ayotte and I have been building decks for 22 years. My company has never used deck blocks. I routinely go back and look at decks I built that are at least 10 years old to see if I could learn something from them. I found these decks to be level and sound. I learnt not to change the in-ground footing method because it works.

I don't want to write any libelous statements here so I'll just deal in empirical* facts.

*empirical; evidence obtained from observation and experience rather than theories.

I went out and inspect decks built by others who used deck blocks. All were off level some more than others. Some long decks were "wavy." Areas of top soil less dense explained why some deck blocks sank a bit causing the deck to have depressions in some areas. Some decks were so bad that they could serve as a launch platform for a skateboarder. One of these decks was only a year old.

DECK BLOCKS - These are good for temporary platforms that are used for a few months or a year and then taken apart. A deck at the back of a house should not be considered as a temporary structure. Because a deck is unprotected and exposed to weather it may not have a lifespan like the house it's attached to but with pressure treated joists and in ground footings it can last 30 years. With deck blocks just the weight of the wood alone can off set the level of the deck then one would need to crawl in the dirt under the deck to jack up and shim it level again. Heavy rain and frost will cause the top surface of the ground to shrink, swell or erode causing movement with deck blocks off setting the deck floor.

INABILITY TO CONFRONT - Someone came out with the "idea" that deck blocks are all you need to build a deck, that they are sound, reliable, fast to use, cheap to buy and all the "reasons" and rhetoric that went with it. Underneath all these "reasons" is simply an inability to confront drilling a hole and doing it right.

TIME - For example a deck that needs 8 footings takes about 2 hours to do the in-ground footings. With deck blocks one would be at it for hours, preparing the area for the deck blocks, leveling, shimming and then reveling after a ton of wood is on the blocks. A contractor who can't confront drilling holes uses deck blocks which end up being a more complicated method with the consequent adverse effects past on to the client. A satisfied customer is a valuable asset and deserves to have a valuable long lasting product.

Think about it for a minute. Would you buy a house that was just placed on the ground? Any unstable area would cause structural damage with drywall cracking etc. Building a deck is an investment of thousands of dollars and should not be constructed in a jerry-built fashion.

For someone to say that deck blocks are good for deck building is uttering a falsehood and has not inspected anything. Even if 10 people tell you that deck blocks are good for permanent decks does not make it a fact, it only makes 10 falsehoods! A deck is an investment and should be built properly for many, many years of enjoyment and that's a fact.

WHO EVER BUILDS YOUR DECK INSIST ON IN-GROUND FOOTINGS.