this is the deck I inspected for the essay portion of my how to inspect decks course. I was just curious, this is attached to a brick veneer but since there is a 4x4 within the first 1/4 of the deck expanse this would be considered free standing and not using the brick as a support mechanism right? There are bolts attaching the ledger board to the brick but they seem to be non structural though I’m sure they will carry some weight depending on how the load is distributed. Thanks
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Do you have pictures you can post of the underside?
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How about a couple of pictures of the structure from the underside, including the attachment to the home.
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We don’t get to look under it??!!??
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It’s possible with the added photos.
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Note, they are parallel beams, not perpendicular joists. Load point changes. The load becomes a concentrated load point where the outer joist contacts the side of the home, unlike joists which distribute the load across the ledger. I think it should be freestanding, but the post materials are undersized and poorly placed IMO.
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Do you have a picture you can post of the post to beam connections?
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ah that makes sense. Since that ledger board is not holding the joists it justifies it more than I guess. Thanks for pointing that out!
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Transparently I didn’t get a great picture of that. This is probably the best one I have but it’s not clear on the actual connection.
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Just a quick suggestion. There are numerous points of interest to consider when inspecting a deck. I always begin with load paths to earth, and the method/viability of materials used. This is why Kevin immediately asked you about the post to beam connection.
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100% will be conscious of that in for future decks. It was actually kind of difficult to find a wood deck to inspect cause they are not super common where I am in Florida.
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We can tell! lol. They don’t have much experience. No joist hangers, improper load points, parallel joists, etc.
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I can’t really tell anything from that picture.
Here you go Joshua, for future reference. This is the document I use whenever I’m being questioned for writing something up on a deck.
DCA6 Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide Based on 2015 IRC
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So many things are wrong. But for your question, it is not free standing.
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If you pulled the house away from the deck, it would still be standing based on your pictures. Therefore, it is a free standing deck. However, the support method for a free standing deck should be done much better than what your pictures show. It is just a poor attempt at constructing a deck. Looks nice though, lol.
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On the other hand…if the deck collapsed it would pull on the brick veneer…therefore “attached.” 
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That’s a collapse waiting to happen. Looks like you have the joists running parallel to the house. The rim joists at the ends are your “beams”. Your “beams” are side screwed into the posts with 4 deck screws. The joists are end screwed into the rim joists with 2-3 screws. Dunno if the deck is going to fail at the joist to rim joist connections first or rim joist(beam) to post connections first, but it will collapse 100%, just a matter of when it gets decently loaded.
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FREE STANDING: Freestanding decks are not attached/secured/fastened to the house. Free standing decks relying on support posts.
ATTACHED: Attached decks are secured to the house with a ledger board.
Defects are apparent.
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Yes they are. They just do not rely on the home for vertical support, but it is often a lateral brace.
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