Dear James: I am living in my first house and would like to add a deck myself. I am fairly petite, so standard tools are a bit heavy for me. Are smaller tools available?—Anita T.
Dear Anita: You should not have a problem building a deck yourself. All home center stores have free deck-building plans and material lists written for the inexperienced do-it-yourselfer. The 4‘ x 4’ posts are the only materials you will have a problem carrying. You can move the actual decking piece by piece.
Typical building and earth-moving tools, as you found, are sized for an average to large man. Having an extra 50 pounds of beer belly may not look good, but it certainly helps a professional builder use typical shovels and posthole diggers. Sometimes, even larger people have trouble getting the shovel blade through hard clay soil.
With your petite size, you will be better off with both smaller and lighter shovels. A typical “man-sized” flat blade shovel can have as much as 80 square inches of blade surface area. It requires a lot of strength and body weight just to overcome the friction with the soil, not to mention twisting and lifting the soil out of the hole.
Smaller spades, such as a border spade, will have only about 50 square inches of blade area and will weigh about 20 percent less. Sure, you will have to spend more time digging the same size hole, but at least you will be able to dig the hole, and your lower back muscles will be grateful the next morning.
Once you have the correct tools, the key to completing your job is selecting the correct tool and using it properly. Always start digging any holes or trenches with a round-point shovel. Dig it to the basic depth and width that you need.
Switch to a flat spade to shape the sides and bottom of a trench. This requires more of a peeling motion than a straight digging motion. Finish up with a square-point shovel to remove the loose dirt from the trench. Using a shovel with a D-handle instead of a straight handle will give you better control.
For digging a small hole, or even a larger one if you have time and do not want to strain, consider using a trenching or duckbill shovel. This shovel design is very narrow (about 5 inches wide), fairly long and lightweight. Sears offers an excellent one with a fiberglass handle.
With your petite size, you will probably find it difficult to use a standard two-handle posthole digger. Even if you can use one, it is difficult to dig a deep hole without it flaring out the top. The bottom should be flared out, not the top of the hole, so it won’t frost heave.
There are one-handle posthole diggers available. They are heavier than a standard digger, but easy to use, and they will not flare out the top of the hole. By actuating a handle, blades rotate to scoop out the dirt.
Ames has hundreds of shovels and spades available. They offer a floral spade which is a cross between a round-point shovel and a spade. It is lightweight and good for cutting through the soil. They also offer a drain spade (duckbill shovel) with a very long blade. It also has a special comfort grip.
Spear & Jackson (sold through Ames) makes some excellent stainless steel border shovels and spades. Stainless steel is extremely strong and never rusts. They also offer a high-quality epoxy-coated border spade. Stanley Tools also now has a line of stainless steel garden tools.
If you want to be the envy of your gardening neighbors, Snow & Neally makes a stainless steel series of yard tools that is virtually indestructible. It has a beautiful furniture-quality finish on the wooden handle.
