Building my first deck this year and I'd like to get some tips. I created this diagram on graph paper of my back yard. Each square is 1 foot. So the drawing is to size. I'd like my deck to come off level or only a slight step down from my back door which is about 18 inches from the ground. I won't need railings code here is 24 in for railings. I'd also would like the a 2nd level that is essentially close to ground level. I'd like to do solid footings but since its not high off the ground I don't want a ledger board. Where would I put my post first off and what would the spacing be? Also I'm confused on to how I would frame it for the built in step that runs around the higher portion and how to attach the step down. To clarify the drawing. The red is my house. The Silver (poor choice for colour) is the deck. To the left of the deck I plan to use my old patio stones, regrade it with some new gravel and create sort of a dog run that runs along the side of my house. Thanks for the help [URL="https://www.dropbox.com/s/vtiu4ms7df3n3h2/deck.jpg?dl=0"]https://www.dropbox.com/s/vtiu4ms7df3n3h2/deck.jpg?dl=0 [/URL] ........click for larger view..... [URL=http://s1252.photobucket.com/user/customsoundservice/media/PLOT_zps9greowip.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1252.photobucket.com/albums/hh568/customsoundservice/PLOT_zps9greowip.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

I'm doing a plan for a free-standing patio cover and looking at Simpson post bases. The structure will be 12'x15', with 8x8 DF #2 posts (columns) and 8x10 DF #2 beams. I am going the use knee braces in both directions on all 4 posts for lateral stability. I've read just about everything on the Strongtie website and also read a few threads about this. I know some people like to use the embedded type (CB, CBSQ, or CCSQ) but I was favoring the ABU so I don't have to trust the concrete guys to get the placement exactly right. With the ABU I can install them myself so I will get the placement right. I have read that some like the embedded ones because they say it will resist rotation more, but as Simpson points out on the website, you should not rely on the post base for resisting rotation. I would think that as long as the uplift and load capacity is enough, since I'm using full knee bracing in both directions, any post base's limited ability to resist rotation is pretty-much irrelevant. BTW, I would be installing the ABU88 with 2 Simpson 5⁄8"x6" Wedge-All anchor bolts as specified by Simpson. So, what's the real story here? Opinions, favorites, rants, raves?