Is ‘Low Maintenance’ Decking Actually Low Maintenance?
One of the most common questions from homeowners researching decking materials: what would you actually use on your own house?...
Lawrence
About Lawrence Winterburn — GardenStructure.com
Lawrence Winterburn is a master carpenter and architectural designer with more than 40 years of hands-on experience building decks, pergolas, cabanas, and garden structures across Southern Ontario and Muskoka. He founded GardenStructure.com in 1994, one of the earliest online destinations for professional-grade outdoor structure plans, and has since sold tens of thousands of DIY plans to homeowners and builders across North America.
His work has been published in Fine Homebuilding, the Journal of Light Construction, Professional Deck Builder Magazine, Canadian House and Home, Southern Living, and the Toronto Star, among others. He has appeared on HGTV.
Lawrence designs everything from custom hardware and brackets to decks, outdoor kitchens, garden structures, additions, and full houses. Unique detailing is his specialty - the kind of problem-solving that comes from decades of building things with his own hands and then asking why they were done that way in the first place. His working philosophy: if something has been done the same way for a hundred years, it is time to take a hard look and figure out a better way.
He builds to a commercial standard on every residential project, with an emphasis on longevity details most builders treat as optional.
He is currently writing The Fence Bible, a multi-volume practical guide to fence design and construction, illustrated with his own technical drawings.
He writes about construction, design, and the economics of building on his Substack, The Thinking Carpenter.
What Building Departments Actually Want From You
The most useful mindset when dealing with a building department: they're doing their job, and once you understand the rules...
What Kind of Wood Actually Belongs in a Deck?
Is wood a good choice for building a deck? The honest answer is that it depends entirely on species —...
The Stairs Built With Glue Instead of Fasteners
Every so often a deck inspection turns up a shortcut so unusual it takes a second look to actually register....
What 40 Years in the Trades Taught Me About Eating for the Job
Ten hour days on your feet. Hauling lumber, pulling wire, running a framing nailer all day. That kind of work...
How a Deck Collapsed Under Ice — A Cautionary Design Story
Not every deck failure comes from a weak joist or a rotted post — sometimes it comes from a clever-looking...
Why Lateral Bracing Is the Difference Between a Renovation and a Collapse
A structure's exterior sheathing, brick cladding, and interior drywall aren't just finishing layers — on many homes, they're also doing...
Why 4-Post Pergolas Are a Design (and Structural) Mistake
Two rules worth knowing before designing a pergola: spans over 12 feet get expensive fast, so use them sparingly, and...
The Staircase Held Up by 3 Nails — And How We Fixed It
A client living overseas bought a summer property near Wasaga Beach, Ontario, and asked us to look at a staircase...
Horizontal Fences That Are Actually Pool-Safe
For about 20 years, vertical board fencing was the default around pools, largely because pool safety codes require a fence...
Paint or Stain on a Deck? Here’s the Real Answer
Most finishing advice oversimplifies this question, and the industry's own reference charts are part of the problem. The Western Red...
The Hidden Risk of Buying Discontinued Composite Decking
When a composite decking manufacturer goes bankrupt or shuts down a plant, their leftover inventory doesn't disappear — it often...
How Far Can a Deck Really Cantilever? A Practical Guide
Cantilevering a deck — extending the framing beyond its last support point — is a normal and useful technique, but...
A Fence Design Detail Most Builders Skip: The Gap Beneath the Panel
A well-built suburban wood fence doesn't need to cost much more than a standard good-neighbour lattice-topped fence to look and...
Why Spring Fence-Building Season Is Riskiest for Homeowners
Hiring a contractor to build a wood fence anywhere in North America between April and June carries real financial risk...
What Your Deck Should Actually Feel Like — A Homeowner’s Inspection Checklist
We regularly get calls from homeowners asking what they should reasonably expect from a deck — and the answer usually...
How to Build a Wood Gate That Doesn’t Sag
There's surprisingly little good instruction anywhere on how to build a wood gate properly — it's not well covered in...
Why Fence Posts Slowly Lift Out of the Ground
It's a strange thing to see — a fence post that was set solidly a few years ago is now...
Red Cedar vs. White Cedar: Why the Difference Matters
"Cedar" isn't one material, and the distinction matters more than most people realize when a fence or deck is expected...
Reading the Fine Print on Composite Decking Warranties
Composite decking companies tend to be quite candid about their products' flaws — you just have to read the warranty...
Why Flashings Matter More Than People Realize
Anywhere a deck or porch attaches to a house, moisture has to be sealed against — and that matters even...
Composite Decking: An Honest Look from Inside the Industry
A note from someone who works inside a large composite decking manufacturer offered some unusually candid insight into where the...
What Are ‘Deck Apples’? Why Comparable Decks Aren’t Always Comparable
Anyone who's sat through a deck estimate has heard the phrase "comparing apples to apples" — and most people nod...
Fence Spikes: Why We Don’t Recommend Them
Spike-style fence post anchors (driven directly into the ground rather than set in a proper footing) have a rough track...
Why the Wrong Nails Ruin a Fence Before the Wood Ever Rots
Black, bleeding streaks running down a fence board are a fastener problem, not a wood problem — and the cause...
Why More Concrete Doesn’t Mean a Stronger Footing
A common assumption is that more concrete around a post automatically means a stronger footing. It doesn't — a post...
Why Deck Joist Sizing Depends on Where You Live
Logic in deck construction is relative to climate. A typical house is framed with 2x8 joists (sometimes 2x6 gets away...
What Actually Happens to PVC Fencing Over Time
PVC (poly vinyl chloride) fencing has been on the market for decades now, and the failure pattern is consistent enough...
Vinyl vs. Wood Fencing: An Honest Comparison
We prefer a well-built custom wood fence, but vinyl has a legitimate place in the fencing world, the same way...
Why Fence Posts Rot in the Ground (And What Actually Stops It)
Rot needs three things to take hold: moisture, oxygen, and the natural sugars in the timber. That combination is worst...
Why Fasteners Matter More Than You Think
We've seen firsthand what happens when a builder cuts corners on fasteners. In one case where we served as an...
Design Insights — Pergolas Over Pools
One of the most common requests we get is for a 20-foot-plus span incorporated into a pergola, usually because a...
PVC, Vinyl, or Composite Pergolas?
People are writing and calling wanting Vinyl and Composite Pergolas. People see the beautiful photos on GardenStructure.com and for some...
Home Shows and Events — Where You Can Find Us
Over the years, GardenStructure.com has shown up in person at home shows and local events across Ontario — a running...
Our Builders — A Showcase of the Network Over the Years
Over the years, GardenStructure.com has grown through a network of independently skilled builders across Ontario and beyond, each bringing their...
Mr. Deck’s Critique — A Lesson from a Silicon Valley Legend
We finally got a feature on Mr. Deck's Critique pages — and to a lot of builders, that might sound...
How Local Search Rankings Actually Work for Builders
One of the more persistent misunderstandings among small business owners is trusting the search results they see on their own...
Spring Builder Notes — A Snapshot of the Crew
Every season brings some turnover on a builder network this size. One long-time exclusive builder left for a corporate role...
GardenStructure.com at the Windsor Home Show
One of our most talented builders, Sal Constante, represented GardenStructure.com at the Windsor Home Show, taking sketches, photos, and design...
Starting Your Own Deck Company Website — What Actually Matters
A good website for a deck, fence, or pergola business comes down to a short list of fundamentals that are...
Selling Decks — Where Are All the Big Decks?
Lawrence Winterburn, founder of GardenStructure.com, started building decks in Burlington, Ontario at eighteen years old — after spending the prior...
A Toronto Pavilion, Designed by Paul Corsetti
This permanent-foundation pavilion came out of a collaboration with Toronto-area landscape designer Paul Corsetti, who developed the concept and working...
A Markham Cabana Built for Real Entertaining
This double-pass-through, roll-up-window cabana and outdoor kitchen in Markham is a good example of what we mean when we talk...
A Pergola with a Greenhouse Roof — Woodbridge
Retractable canopy pergolas have been part of our lineup for years, but they come with a maintenance conversation some clients...
Cedar Decks in Etobicoke — A Toronto Rebuild
This project replaced a poorly planned three-level deck in Etobicoke — narrow upper and lower platforms that left almost no...
Decks with Curved Rails — A Muskoka Case Study
Curved rails are one of those details a lot of builders attempt and few pull off — something that actually...
Why We Don’t Use Deck Clips Anymore
Hidden fasteners sound great on paper: no visible screw heads, a cleaner-looking deck surface. In practice, we've seen this "better...
What to Use? Composite or Wood?
Composite decking marketing loves showing pristine boards and promising "maintenance free" performance and a "permanent solution" to yearly staining. The...
Privacy Fence, Trellis, or Screen? What Your Local Bylaw Actually Cares About
Homeowners often ask us the difference between a privacy fence, a trellis, and a privacy screen. In practical terms —...
We Built This Fence in 1995. It’s Still Standing.
We recently passed by a wood trellis fence we built for a client back in 1995. Nearly thirty years later,...