Fellow Inspectors, Could you Please! comment on the Deck Ledger Board structural supports seen in this new deck (addition) instalation to a 1925 Bungalow dwelling. My take: They didn’t use traditional galvanized through bolts to attach to the trim joist. Instead they used what looks like two spax power lag screws per joist. I included some pictures of the traditional installation code requirements, but it seems that this Spax Power Lags are now trending.
No pictures uploaded.
It is wrong.
Also, placement of the fastener is as wrong, if not more wrong, than the type of fastener used.
IRC 2018 would prohibit this lag screw. And the other things @jjonas just mentioned
Not necessarily so. Several structural fasteners are IRC approved for ledger use as long as spaced properly. Ledger Loc is one of them. If you notice in the above wording…it says other approved fasteners.
Good point. So keep in mind Ledger Loc is not necessarily approved either. It will be up to the building official.
Approved as defined by the IRC
Yep. And that depends on how they interpret it. I know in this area, if it is IRC(whatever number), it is approved.
Thanks! Guys… You came over my expectations to support my notes and recommendation to this client. He is an investor/flipper and will grow from this learnings into the next dwelling. Some of this “flippers” are taking a few of the remodeling tasks under their Do-It-Yourself belt to save on more expensive qualified licensed contractors and the results are pretty obvious when it come to CODE violations.
I want to share with you all my latest finding [ Options for Fastening a Deck Ledger - YouTube ] in this YouTube Video that actually presents the lag screws as a more trending/recent option specially on retrofitted installations where the access to the back of the RIM-Board is not visible. However, this video clarifies that even on retrofits, the CODE/City inspector could ask to open a visiting/viewing hole in the interior to verify that the screws have gone through completely.
