also ledger board was used instead of joist strapping…
the deck was not bolted to the home, but screws were used. I know simpson strongtie are allowed…took close up pictures of the screw heads to see if could determine what kind they were…but dont think it would identify them…
It is my house. I have not got to the stairs, But coming soon before snow flies.
I will drop down one step to a platform, Then run the stringers parallel to the deck.
Not to over stress the center posts. By adding bracing you can transfer more lateral load to the posts and overload them. Why the middle ones? because they already receive more vertical load than the corner posts without any bracing.
The frame was also reinforced in both directions with knee braces that were fastened to the beams and columns with 1⁄2-inch-diameter HDG all-thread rod
There are numerous other articles on the web using diagonal braces on centre columns:
Anyway, my report is gone and nothing was mentioned about the diagonal knee braces.
20 years of my life as a carpenter was in S California where they LOVE decks. They’re everywhere. They’re not built to these specs and you just have to know what to look for. Many have rim joist/fascia nailed to joist ends and handrail balusters fastened through the fascia. It comes loose after a while, just like nailed ledgers. Standard practice in certain areas during certain time periods.
This is a good guide for building new decks but I don’t think it’s appropriate for inspecting existing decks. Inspecting existing decks is like inspecting old homes to the modern IRC.
I see numerous problems, including requirements that can’t be confirmed once home/deck is complete. I wouldn’t call out use of zinc lags instead of stainless or galvanized, and how would you confirm lag length, especially in a finished basement?
There are a million decks out there that are not built to these specs that are just fine, or that are aging and the problems need to be identified.
Here, the posts are fine. I would call out the use of screwed ledger unless I could confirm that they were OK (I’d want to see a set of plans specifying them). The missing railing section is no good. For snow removal you install a gate with a latch at a location where you shovel along the length of the boards, not across them. Especially where there’s snow, planking is oriented parallel to the exterior walls, otherwise shoveling is really awkward near the wall.
Never put wood posts in the ground if it can be avoided. Even redwood or cedar.
If a deck has solid sheathing and is fastened to the home it shouldn’t need any bracing at all. To me, a deck needs bracing if I can grab the rail and make it move by rocking it, or if it’s really big and may loosen as it ages. Diagonal braces can also be fastened to the underside of the joists. I think diagonal post braces are attached at corners for aesthetic reasons if intermediate posts are not braced.
There are a lot of ways to build a deck and so I don’t think one standard does it for all decks of all ages.
