Frequently Asked Deck Buildings Questions (continued)

Is the slope bad? By that I mean, it is not the slope designed into the porch to make the water drain off? One thing also to consider, is, did it slope due to rotting and decaying supports underneath? If you rip up the boards, to level it, you may well want to replace the joists underneath. You would need to raise all these up to make the floor level and can replace them with pressure treated wood. If you rip up the floor and find the joist in perfect condition, consider some ideas such as ripping wedge shaped boards to nail to the top of each joist to level them, or.. jacking up the low end of the porch and shimming on top of the supports.

Support for Sagging Porch

We have a enclosed porch on the front of our house. We noticed that it is beginning to sag and the floor is beginning to slant away from house. There is a crawl space below the porch that would enable us to install teleposts to add support to the porch. How would we go about installing them?

If you are in a cold climate. telepost will do nothing for you. Seems to me the porch has not enough support posts for the span and the existing posts are not set below frost level (if applicable).

If you use a telepost, you need to install a concrete footer under each to your recommended frost depth by local building code or you are throwing you $$ away.

Building Stairs for a Deck

I am a novice builder, I just finished building my first freestanding deck that butts up to my round pool. What a task it was and quite a learning experience. Anyway, all I have left to do is the stairs so me and the rest of my family can get on the deck. I have the material, but I just don't know where to start. I think I read somewhere that you have to measure the vertical rise first. PLEASE HELP!!!

Well.. you can buy stretchers already cut.. but since you already have the material....

Use your carpenters square to measure the rise and run together ... and mark them on the stretcher. A good rise/run is a 7" rise and a 11" tread. Hold your square so the 7 and the 11 are on the edge of the board.... If you draw the lines on the board marked by the square.. you have you start. Now... move the square down and mark it again.. same way. with the 11 where the 7 was. If you sit with your board and your square.. this may make sense. you will do this all the way down. By the way.. you can fudge a little... if your total height is not a multiple of 7.. just use something close.. but make sure ALL rises are the same. You would not believe how easy you'll trip when the rise heights vary.

Finally.. on the bottom square it off, cutting across the piece at a 90 degree angle to the last rise.... Once you cut one. Use it to mark you other. You can cut most of the way on each cut with your circular saw.. then finish the cuts with a hand saw.

Your directions did make sense and the stairs turned out beautifully. Just have to add the handrails and I'm all set.

Attaching Deck Railing Posts

Most deck plans I see call for attaching the railing posts to the inside or outside rim joists. I've already laid the decking, but have been thinking that handling the odd angles would be easier if the posts were attached directly to the decking (I don't want to cut out complex notches, and don't like doubled up posts). Can I run a lag screw through the decking and up into the 4X4 railing posts? This way, I could move the posts in an inch or two, add base moldings, and angle them to fit the deck countours. Or is this not stable enough or not up to most codes? If I cut out a 3.5" square in the decking to put the post through, I could attach it to a field joist set in a few inches, but that won't work on the railing side parallel to the field joists (nearest joist is 16" in).

A post that people are going to lean on is difficult to keep sturdy by just attaching it to the decking. I wouldn't go that route. Since it sounds like you can still get under your deck (since you can get a lag screw up from the bottom) why don't you build between the joists the framework to hold your posts. As you suggested, attaching it to the joists in from the edge will work well. Where you are 16" away.. run perpendicular boards (blocking) between the two joists where you want the posts. In fact running two, to sandwich the post would be ideal. Know what I mean?