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tempest67 · 07-16-2007, 11:09 AM

hello --

we are building a very low freestanding deck near our house, and have a problem with the decking nearest the house. because our deck needs to be quite low, there was not enough space to put joists on top of beams -- so we are using 2x6 joists hung from doubled 2x8 beams. this works great -- except right next to the house. here, our doubled beams still leave a 3.5 inch gap between the closest beam and the house -- so we're not sure how to put in our closest row of decking to cover that gap. i have included an illustration that hopefully makes it clear what the problem is (the circle is the top of the footing below). has anybody seen this before, or does anybody have any great insights as to how to support decking in this area? we were thinking of sistering 2x4s to the side closest to the house, to give a little extra support -- but we're just not sure how much support this thing needs... thanks for any suggestions!

Jeekinz · 07-16-2007, 12:10 PM

Can you attach a ledger board to the house?

tempest67 · 07-16-2007, 12:24 PM

hi, jeekinz --

well, we didn't want to go that route, because the house is masonry veneer, and we heard that it would be a real pain to get that stuff off -- plus neither of us has done a ledger board before, and we were a bit intimidated by the prospect of getting the flashing right, etc. so at this point, it's too late for that -- footings are poured.

-t

Jeekinz · 07-16-2007, 12:41 PM

You're going to have to construct some sort of "shelf" then. The problem is, you have 3 1/2" of room to work in.....what decking material are you using?

If you're using pressure treated 2x6's, you could just buy a 2x10 or 2x12.

Or, screw in a 2x4 nailer to the rim joist closest to the house and run the deck boards the other way. The decking would only overhang 2".

tempest67 · 07-16-2007, 12:55 PM

Hi, Jeekinz --

thanks for your quick reply. We are using 5/4"x6 cedar decking. My original plan was to run the decking the other way, but my husband nixed that - he really wants the look of decking parallel to the house. So I think you're right that the essential problem is building a shelf -- but could we build a 2x4 shelf and still have the decking parallel? What if we screwed in that shelf, and then let the decking overhang on the long edge by an inch, giving us an inch gap between the deck and the house -- would an overhang of an inch on the long edge for a 5/4" thick piece of decking be really bad?

The easiest thing would be if we could put in little joists every 16" -- but I don't know how to give them a strong enough moment connection to make it work. Maybe get some kind of metal bracket?

Thanks again for your ideas!!

-t

skymaster · 07-16-2007, 12:55 PM

Tempest: the horse already left the barn

However to get out this problem I would do: double up 2 x 4 in the space and bolt em on from the INSIDE OF YOUR HEADRE; ie; CUT EM TO SIZE, CLAMP EM IN PLACE, DRILL THRU YOUR HEADER AND 2 X'S, THEN RUN BOLTS THRU FROM INSIDE THIS WAY YOU CAN GET THE NUTS AND WASHERS ON IN THE TINY SPACE AND TIGHTEN THEM FROM THE OPEN SIDE OF THE HEADER then just deck it.
JackM

tempest67 · 07-16-2007, 02:11 PM

skymaster --

you're right about the horse being out of the barn!! I think your suggestion is great. do you think we have to run these 2x4's for the whole length of the deck (26 feet!) or can we space em out a little?

thanks for the suggestion!

-- t

skymaster · 07-18-2007, 06:29 PM

Tempest: I would try to go full length, otherwise you could wind up with Murphy. Just my luck to wind up with a joint right where I decided to leave a space

If your decking is wide enuf you may be able to go single and have enuf room to slip a clamp over the 2 x to hold it while u drill and bolt. 1 1/2 gap is not an issue if u have 2 x decking.
JackM

jogr · 07-27-2007, 01:27 PM

Use these every 16". http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/4pa3gastcobr.html

Screw them on the beam before you place the beam in position. Don't try to screw the deck board to the bracket. Screw the deck board to the beam/joist and us a dab of polyurethane glue on the bracket. This last deck board holds virtually no weight - you just don't want it to twist.

If you've already placed the beam and joists then use larger versions of the same bracket and screw them to the other side of the beam so that they extend over the beam and gap. If you have to go over the beam this way then you'll need to let in the bottom of the deck board at the bracket location so it doesn't sit high.