Designing a backyard deck for my house

The author describes designing a backyard deck for his house after the previous owner had demolished the original deck, leaving a dangerous 4-foot drop from the back door. Unable to afford contractor quotes, he decided to design and build the deck himself, drawing on high school drafting skills learned on vellum paper and his DIY mindset. The post focuses on the process of creating technical drawings needed to obtain a building permit, with DXF files available for reference.