[ovahimba]

I'm building a small deck against the back of my house. The ledger and joists are in place and I'm about to attach the first deck board parallel to the side of the house. The standard method seems to be to place the first screws closest to the house into the ledger. The top of the ledger is covered with metal flashing however. So would the screw holes through the flashing cause a water leakage problem later significant enough to worry about?

 

[Gary in WA]

Yes. I only screw one side, not near house. Or, the second screw in the middle, not on the flashing. Depends on board width and thickness. If you wait to cut the joists off until the boards are installed, all but three or so, the last board away from the house will fit perfectly. Run a bead of caulk under the house rim, on the drip edge, so water off the flashing can't run under to the house. The length of the deck. Be safe, GBAR

 

[Just Bill]

Consider one of those fastening systems that keeps the fasteners under the deck. A bit more work and expense, but it looks much nicer.

 

[ovahimba]

Thanks for the reply. I might just keep the screws in the middle of the board away from the metal flashing. That side of the house gets the prevailing wind and most of the water when it rains.