I think there is a problem with this post... by the poster and the postee... I don't think the question is clear nor does the response by the second guy making any sense... 
Thank you. It occurred to me that the weight of the deck will cause it to "fall" towards the house, not away from it, so the pull-out issue is not as big a deal as I thought. But I'll probably use lots of lag bolts, just in case.lag bolts work just fine its long large spikes that have issues with holding. just make sure your using 1/2" x 5" minimum
Of course not. It is simply one detail that I needed help with.Hi FatBear, this is the kind of deck project that really can not be designed by a question here and there to a forum over the internet.
My best friend is a very experienced structural engineer and I have quite a bit of building experience. He helped me design the deck through phone calls and email questions and the occasional scan of a detail. Unfortunately, I did not think to ask about this and he is out of town for a couple of weeks just when I'm about to do the ledgers. He is not licensed in the state where I am currently living, so I am on my own. The county said I needed engineering, meaning a signature. I contacted an engineer who said it would cost about $12,000 to redraw and sign my plans. No, I did not misplace a zero. Before I could even gag he asked why am I getting engineering. When I said to get a building permit he asked why I was getting a building permit. My friend, the engineer had asked the same thing. "Because I always get one" is not an adequate answer for an engineer. Both recommended that I proceed without the permit and take lots of photos, then get an engineer to sign off if I am ever called on it. That is what I plan to do.Your project is certainly beyond the scope of prescriptive or conventional construction techniques.
You really do need an engineered design for this to be sure that it passes code and you can obtain permits from your local jurisdiction.
Engineering will not save me money. The whole project will cost less than the $12K engineering fee even if I overbuild it to last another 1000 years.This will also save you money on the construction as it seems to me that you would not need to use pressure treated lumber if the floor joists are not in contact with the ground or are subject to weather.
No, it doesn't. And no official guidelines exist that I am aware of. The plans inspector I talked to sure never suggested any. They require decks to be fireproof but give no guidelines, forcing people to either pay for engineering or DIY and cross your fingers. Fortunately I do have an engineer helping me even if he can't sign the plans.That is a great reference but it does not cover a deck that will have tile on top and stucco on the underside of the deck
Both recommended that I proceed without the permit and take lots of photos, then get an engineer to sign off if I am ever called on it. That is what I plan to do.
One of those ceilings is a weird sort of dropped arrangement which will require opening large enough holes to climb up into. And what a mess it will make, though I can certainly and skillfully replace the drywall. The other is actually the underside of a stuccoed overhang. I am really poor at stucco and hate it so I was hoping to avoid it. I just thought it was worth asking if anyone had an alternative. Everything else in the world has become so sophisticated that I thought maybe there would be a solution to this problem, too. But I guess not, so maybe I will end up doing as you suggest.If you don't trust lag bolts, then open the wall/ceiling on the inside of the house and bolt it up, as you initially planned.
The first one wouldn't work with the house. The second sounds interesting, but not exactly what we want. One really big consideration is access. I, or hired goons, am going to have to carry everything down a steep hill and then up to where it is used. No cranes, no lifts or hoists, no backing up to the site and unloading. Steel seems awfully heavy for my creaking old body. Am I wrong? Can you build a steel framed deck without machinery to lift the pieces into place?I've built a few 100% non-combustible decks, in fact we are working on one right now. The simplest ones are steel frame, aluminum decking, and steel railings. Nothing to burn there. The one we are currently doing is steel frame with paver stones and steel railings