Good afternoon everyone.
I have a question for those that do this much more than me.
Im building a free-standing deck off the back of my house. It will be Approx. 16’x24′, and is supported by 9 helical piers. Im using a double 2×12 beam, and there are three of them running parallel to the house. The joists will be 2×10, spliced in the middle at the middle beam.
I am not attaching to a ledger, so wont be able to just hang the joists and square using the 3-4-5 method. Im trying to figure out what the best way will be to frame up the joists so that I can have a square surface for decking. They will mostly be 16″ OC, but the last space is different to support a picture piece of decking.
Would you recommend putting up the joists closest to the house and working out, then squaring just the last board before attaching the rim joist? Or should I make my “square” of the first and last joists, combined with the rim joists also and square that?
Not a professional here by any means, but looking for the best way to get this done. Thanks in advance!
Replies
Google Batter Boards. It will describe how to use string reference lines to square up frame in advance .
My first thought would be to square the first and last beams using diagonal measuring. You can put the beams on the piers and slide them around until square. If they are not parallel you'll have to account for that. Once the beams are squared and secured I'd square the first and last joists the same way and fill in the blanks. If the first and last are square the rims will be also. It's way easier if you have some cantilever in your plan to start with.
I initially thought the same thing, then I wondered how he laid out the piers.....
2 corner batter bds out beyond the layout from the house and 2 nails on the house at the ends of the deck and all layout and squaring of the job are done. Unless you bump the board (upside dn smiley face)
If the piers are laid out halfway accurately I'd race ya. You on the strings and me with the boards. As old as we are it wouldn't be very exciting of a contest but I'd bet a 6 pack on it but reserve the right for my 3 beers even if I lose.
Deal.
Now don’t sneak up in the middle of the night and kick the boards!
I wouldnt want to race either of you, but would make the 6 pack a 12 if I can get in on the split...
Thanks calvin and oldhand for the quick replies.
I did use batter boards and line to set up the outline of the deck, as well as the center point for the piers. So I think that went fairly well, and things are close-ish to parallel/perpendicular where they should be. But there is still wiggle room for the beams in the brackets, so Ill be shooting to get them closer to square also, but understanding that my joists are going to be where the rubber hits the road, so to speak.
My thoughts were to install the first joist next to the house, and try to keep it spaced from a trim board that surrounds my sliding door. If I can keep that gap consistent, and then make sure that the joist that it is sistered to stays straight, (maybe some blocks and a string line?), I can then set the one at the other end and measure diagonals.
There is cantilever on both the beams and the joists. I do need to trim down just a bit off of the 24' dimension since I want to avoid ripping a deck board, so I suppose I could set my joists, run them wild, and then snap a string and cut them square. I would rather lay things out though and do it right from the get-go.
Also, Im planning to use g-tape on the tops of the beams to help keep the water out. Any tips for marking on top of that? Silver sharpie?
Thanks again!
Just a couple random thoughts. ... I'd f-clamp any joist I wanted to measure with and see that it stays perpendicular as you hook a tape on it. More slowness..
And I missed what you are going to deck with but you might save trimming the ends of the outer joists until you get most of the deck down if you're intent on ending with a full deck board. It's really easy to cover more or less than you expect on paper, just the way it goes for me.
I don't know what g-tape is but maybe you can mark it by scratching a dent in it with an awl or a nail.
It sounds like you are over figuring this thing but it also sounds like you'll end up with a decent job. Sounds like.
Thanks for the reply oldhand.
Over figuring is what I do... And you nailed that pretty quick. Just don't do this often enough so I am second guessing and moving slow to try and not make a mistake or have it result in looking terrible or more work to finish.
I set the joist near the house, and held it temporarily with a hurricane clip that had a deck screw in it. Seemed to work OK, and I got at least one edge of the deck pretty square. So that's good.
Going to only square cut off the pile and leave the rest of the joists long until they are all installed. Then I can string line to make sure I'm still square and make my final cuts. I'll probably hold off on the far rim joist until most of the decking is on and trim down to avoid the rip. Plus I can fix the square then if I am still off in my measurements somehow.
Grape is a relatively new tape, easier to work with than the foil backed bitumen stuff. Years by hand, pretty thin, but it's like black duct tape. I'm using a Milwaukee silver marking pen and it works OK, just a lot thicker than my pencil marks. But it's a deck, not furniture so I guess I need to get over it!
Sounds to me like you have this totally under control. As for thick marks for precision all you have to do is eyeball the center it or use the edge, either way it's a judgement call. Do a few dry runs for practice and use that as your gold standard. Center, edge, what ever method works consistently for you.