Frequently Asked Deck Buildings Questions (continued)

Attaching Ledger to Block Foundation

I plan on building a low level deck that is attached to my home. If I attach the ledger to the sill plate, the deck will be too high. Can I safely attach a ledger to a block foundation?

Yes you can. You will need to dill holes through the ledger board at every foot. Hold or temporarily support the ledger board on the foundation and mark with a pencil on the block where each hole is.

Then drill clean through the block into basement or crawl space with a hammer drill and masonry bit. (Can be rented for a few bucks if you don't have one)

You will then bolt the ledger board to the foundation with either long lag bolts or using a threaded rod. Washers must be used on the inside of the foundation as well as with the bolt or rod on the outside of the ledger board.

To avoid water from leaking in through the bolt holes into basement, run a bead of silicone caulk on top of the ledger board before adding the deck.

Attaching Ledger to Vinyl Siding

Is it necessary to cut vinyl siding away to install a ledger or can I just "squash" it and caulk around it?

You don't really want to do that do you? Cutting the vinyl and reinstalling the bottom edging above the deck board is not really to hard and it lets you put some good flashing up under the vinyl and over the ledger.

Also.. it is best to eliminate any gap between the board and the wall that isn't supporting the board. BUT.. if you insist.. you can get away with it.. I have seen it done.... don't like. it.. but I have seen it. And it worked..

Installing Flashing and Ledger to Vinyl Siding

I'm building a deck about 8' off the ground, and where my ledger board needs to be fastened to the house wall there is vinyl siding. Do I have to remove the siding to attach to the plate, or can I go right over it? What about and how do I install the "Z" flashing? (I know the starter strip and at least one sheet of siding cover the plate I need to fasten to). If I do need to remove the siding in my way, how do I fasten the remaining siding to the wall above the deck, which will stay?

You "should" remove the siding. I have seen it left on and sort of crushed... It neither looks good or I think does a good job of fastening/sealing the ledger. So, remove the siding. Install the ledger board, then the flashing. The flashing should go up the wall, down over the top of the ledger and then down the front face of the ledger. It only needs to go a little down the ledger, and about 6" up the wall.

Buy a bottom edge strip for the vinyl siding, or maybe you can use the one from below. Unless you still, need that one. But that strip gets nailed in just above the decking (if you are installing it before you put the deck boards on. allow for their thickness) and the siding's bottom edge is tucked into it.

Deck Ledger Flashing: Proper Method?

Is there a proper or recommended method for flashing a deck ledger? I've seen them where the flashing goes up under the siding and then angle out over the top of ledger and ends (an L shape) and also where the flashing goes up under the siding, angles out on top of the ledger, and then bends down over the face of the ledger. Which is better and is either way "improper"?

I prefer the second method. There is less chance of any water getting back behind the ledger board.

Free-Standing Deck or Attached w/Ledger?

I recently added an enclosed porch onto the back of my house. It's on posts about 8' off the ground. I'm planning on adding a 16x12 deck, about 4' off the ground and butting up to the outside support posts of the porch. Should the deck be free-standing, or should I attach a ledger board spanning the posts and attached the deck to the ledger?

When you say freestanding you only mean whether or not to attach it to the posts, right? Because in either case if it abutts the other, you want to make sure it is supported well by footings that go below the frost line. You don't want it to move laterally in the posts of the upper deck.