I'm just wrapping up designing the deck for my house. The house comes with the standard ledger board already in place out the sliding door. My question is, I want a larger deck than the 12 foot default. Can I use the ledger board for the first 12 feet and posts for the next 10 feet? Or, do I need to install ledger board for the rest of the length?

Thanks

 

Welcome to the forums! It would be difficult for us to comment since we can't see what you see. Can you post a picture or two of the situation? http://www.doityourself.com/forum/el...your-post.html

 

Here is a picture that I have. As you can see, there is a ledger board on left side under sliding door. My thought is to continue deck as far right as right edge of living room windows which is an additional 9 feet past ledger board (plus 2 feet further back).

 

You'll need to remove the siding in the area of the ledger, including cutting the corners and run the ledger around the corner and down the wall past the living room. You will be replacing the siding nearer the finish of the project. You can't attach a deck to siding. Here's a little reading to do that may help you figure out small details. We're here to help, so fire away. http://www.awc.org/pdf/codes-standar...Guide-1405.pdf

 

Thanks Chandler.

What I was wondering was, rather than attaching a ledger board on the right hand side, can I just use posts there instead. That way the deck would be attached to a ledger at the sliding door section and free standing at the living room window section. (I hate working with siding)

 

Sure, you can do that. Your footers for the close in posts will need to be as deep as the house footer

 

Thanks - now I just have to figure out if I want to mess with siding, etc... or dig deeper footings...

 

One question.....I thought I remember reading here that a ledger could not be attached to a cantilevered part of the house. Does that not apply here ?

Wasn't sure if this pertained... DCA Series (1-7)

 

Good catch, Pete. I'm here looking directly at his picture and didn't see the forest for the trees Page 15 shows prohibited attachment points. So this may help you decide on a free standing deck to begin with, since you will need to remove the band and install siding over it to return it to its original configuration.

 

Is this a new home? I'm guessing it is since it never had a deck. If that's the case you may want to show the above-mentioned code implications of installing a deck at this location. If the contractor is reputable he should remove the ledger board and install new siding at the very least is what he did was not up to code. If he doesn't want to do that you may want to talk to a local AHJ.

 

I know I saw a ledger on a cantilever at least once on a newish home. And it wasn't done properly. A beam and posts were added which were just butted up tight to the vinyl soffit material under the cantilever = a good 1" or so of basically empty space between the cantilever frame and the beam. Regardless though, the real problem with attaching to a cantilever is that you attach to the interior rim of the cantilever, and that rim is usually only face nailed into the grain end of each joists = just those nails are not nearly enough support - the whole end of the deck is riding on nails despite how well you bolt the exterior ledger to the cantilever's interior rim. If you have engineered I joists, it's much worse. Most decks fail at the ledger. And also leaks can cause expensive rot damage.

Since that ledger was built with the home, it just might be framed differently to allow a deck - it might have upside down joists hanger connecting the joists to the rim. Or simpson Ls90 gusset angles on each side of each joists. Those joists also probably have to be doubled up though. Google "Attaching Through A Cantilever" and find the thread on contractortalk and there's spec diagrams from 2009 (it's probably stricter now) and says you need to also double up the joists. If you can reach into the cantilever from inside an unfinished basement, you can attach LS90 gussets with an air palm nailer or tap away with the side of a hammer with short swings in limited space. I don't really think the deck's going to fall down unless you have tons of weight/people on it if you don't also double up the joists, but it is a requirement so I would give it the benefit of the doubt that yes you should double up the joists, and if they're not doubled up (I highly doubt it), then I would scrap the whole idea and just built if free standing.



Another thing is lateral load connectors. They are being required more. They connect the basement/house joist to the deck joists.
Even if the cantilever was built to allow a deck ledger, if you only ledger the existing portion and run a beam for the rest, the inspector might still make you put lateral connectors for the non ledger area = drill holes though siding and caulk with best quality caulk inside and out.





I would just make it free standing and not mess with any of this.

Was there already a small deck there by the home builder or steps? That doesn't mean it's okay to build a deck on there because baffling is how home builders can often get away with building small decks with no footings in frost zones and still pass inspection - they just stick 4x4s on the dirt. I've taken dozens of them down to build custom decks. In other words, that ledger, for whatever reason is there, and likely you don't have doubled up joists and LS90 brackets in the cantilever to allow a deck ledger.

 

All of that doesn't matter since you cannot attach a deck to any cantilever. See? A shorter answer