Carpentry people: Deck questions

[skyking]

stop spreading your misinformation

2ft of snow is approximately 40psf. probably 80psf maximum where deck meets side of house, and that's a rather conservative estimate.

He was just using Howard's water weight worst case numbers, which you and I know is ludicrous
I suppose if you put down some plastic, get out the garden hose, and make a skate rink up there..........

 

[bonkers325]

His last few posts are rather misleading. Anyway, at that joist spacing and joist size he is fine. Most common failures of structures are because of failed connections, not undersized structural members.

 

[skyking]

yeah, I always see hinky stuff right at the ledger on bad decks, and this one is only there for shear loads. That's how I build my porch roof structure. rather not hang loads on a structure I don't know.

 

[skimple]

Well, I'm not saying that using hardware alone won't work, just that it is against code and would not pass inspection. I've seen and built decks that did not use notching, and they are all still standing.

However, I have also had 1/4" bolts break off when being hand-tightened. I'm sure that I could never manually exert enough force to break a 1/2" bolt, but a fully loaded deck is a different story.

The reality is that sometimes you can get crappy, brittle hardware. Notching the posts doesn't take much extra work, and provides a lot of extra support. Then the hardware only has to perform the clamping action.

 

[edro]

Regardless of structural methods, I think we can all agree that balsa is the superior building material.

 

[Gunslinger08]

So the deck is basically done, other than a few pickets. I'm happy with everything I see other than 2 joists that don't have hangers because of clearance problems with posts and/or ledger board bolts. Anything I can do about that after they're hung?

 

[skyking]

So the deck is basically done, other than a few pickets. I'm happy with everything I see other than 2 joists that don't have hangers because of clearance problems with posts and/or ledger board bolts. Anything I can do about that after they're hung?

I'm sure the contractor fastened them somehow. If there is a space there for a block, glue and screw in a block with liquid nails subfloor and deck glue.

 

[edro]

Yeah, he probably just drove nails in at an angle, or relied on the blocking.

Don't worry about it. He knows what he is doing.