A journal for the deck that has to last

The domain name is older than this publication. For years customdecking.com.au sat on a parking page. We rebuilt it as a journal because the search phrase still means something in Australian yards: a platform built for a particular house, a particular climate, and a particular way of eating outside.

We are not a contractor directory and we are not a product catalogue. The work here is written in Australian English, filed into topic hubs, and edited against editorial standards that prefer primary rules — the National Construction Code, AS 1684, local bushfire overlays — over brochure language.

What we cover

Five desks, which you can enter from the masthead or from these hubs:

• Timber & Materials — Hardwoods, treated pine, composites and the fasteners that hold an Australian deck together. How to choose a surface that will still look honest in ten summers.
• Design & Planning — Sun, slope, bushfire, salt and the neighbour’s window. Planning a custom deck so it earns its keep in the climate you actually live in.
• Structure & Building — Footings, joists, stairs, balustrades and the National Construction Code. The unglamorous work that decides whether a deck lasts.
• Climate & Care — Oil, mould, termites, the wet season and the pool fence. Looking after a deck through Australian weather rather than fighting it.
• Outdoor Living — Kitchens, shade, winter heat, ramps and tight inner-city courtyards. Turning a timber platform into a room the household actually uses.

Who writes

Essays carry a byline. Most are written by the Custom Decking desk: editors who have spent time on site with carpenters, certifiers and landscape designers, and who still treat a joist schedule as a document rather than a vibe. Guest contributors are welcome under the write for us guidelines. Paid or guest-placement links, when they appear, are marked rel="sponsored".

How to reach us

Corrections, pitches and picture-credit questions go through the contact form, which delivers to the editorial inbox. We publish our privacy policy and a full list of image credits because the pictures in this journal are borrowed from the commons, not from a stock library with a forgotten invoice.