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ALL HANDS ON DECK
Lay the deck blocks or Patio stones every 4 feet
2
Patio stones are used also as foundations for a floating deck...4 ft each stone covers
JOIST BOARD FORMULA
TREADS are horizontal spruce boards, the purpose for them is they create the footings for each step.
RISERS are boards that cover the vertical distance between stair treads.
STRINGERS are the boards that are the frame holding the staircase. The treads and risers are fixed to these stringers to create a set of stairs.
A footing pad is part of your deck’s staircase. Your staircase will run down unto the concrete footing that can also be gravel. Usually the footing pad is 2 inches thick.
Calculating stairs for deck.
To build stairs for a deck you have to find the total rise or overall vertical height the stairs have to cover. Put a straight board on top of the deck then extend it from the edge, measure down to the landing location. So for ex: let's say the total rise is 48 in. The next job is to find the rise of each step. Divide 48 by 7 in. (the typical rise per step) to get 3.36 Which goes to 3, then determine the actual rise, divide the 48 in. by the eight steps to get 7 1/8 in. per step.
Most stair stringers are made from 2x12 and the runs by 2x10. Once a pattern is cut out keep one for future use.
Stringers should be placed 3 feet apart if wider steps are needed use more stringers.
JOIST HANGERS 101
Installing aJoist hanger
Most joist hangers are 2x6 or 2x8
For joist hanger formula its easy and quick
1: Take the length or width depending on joist board layout
So for example on left lets take
24ft * 12 inches/16" = A (number of joist hangers to be placed
Now why is the formula like that?
Well we had to multiply 24 feet by inches to convert that length into inches so we can then divide that by 16 inches...to get number of joists
(each joists are placed 16 inches apart)
You can go 24" apart for joists but 16 is preferred.
DECK BOARD FORMULA
5.5"
To know how many deck boards are needed to cover your deck follow these steps
1 Whatever way the joist boards are laid out the deck boards will lay opposite (the red arrow shows joist boards)
2 Next you then measure the length of the joist board...so if the joist board is 20 feet you then do this.
20 feet X 12 = 240 inches
then take 240 inches and divide it by 5.5" (the width of typical deck board)
the answer will be 43.6 or 44 and bingo
44 deck boards are needed to cover your deck.
DECK STAIR CALCULATIONS
DECK BLOCK
PATIO STONES
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Pros:
-Raises deck about 6 inches
-Locks wood within the 4 way carved out groove.
Cons:
-Material crumbles easy on corners and edges.
-Nothing to grab clumsy to move around
Pros:
-Spreads out weight, able to handle a heavy deck
-Very thick able to be structural sound
Cons:
-Material has alot of weight around 88 lbs
-Edges can be sharp, wear leather gloves
ATTACHING LEDGER BOARD
Always use galvanized lag screws that are 1/2 X 6 inches in length or more. Now some builders use 1 ledger board (2"thick by 8" width at least) to attach to the foundation of the house but i always prefer 2 boards depending on size of deck.
So an attached deck that is sticking out by 10 feet or more i use 2 boards and you want the lag screw to at least stick 4 inches into the house.
Now if this was your ledger board i would always recommend a size of 2x8 and the length will vary on your deck but the first 2 measurements are essential.
To attach the lag screws always use 2 lags offset to each other and 5" apart vertically Making a W pattern.
Some builder offset the lag screws to a small varying degree but its up to you....but general rule
2 lag screws one above the other every 13" horizontally.
Ledger LOK
GRK
Now installing a lag screw can be a pain because of the pilot holes needed to be done prior to screwing require two different bit sizes.
An easier but pricey way is buying LEDGER LOK or GRK screws. They both have the washer built in them and are structurally sound for vertical loads.
FREE PDF ATTACH DECK PLAN
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