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Editor's Notepad

Patrick’s Barn: Framing a Deck

By Patrick McCombe
I thought that casting the 3/4-in. rods into the slab for attaching the ledger would make this process a snap, but I didn't realize that the 2x6 I planned on wouldn't hang low enough for attaching the joist hangers. I solved the problem by adding a 2x8 on top secured with many structural screws. 

Helping my dad build a deck in the late 1980s was one of my first exposures to carpentry, and it might have been the starting point for my career and my lifelong love of building. It seems appropriate, then, that building a covered deck is the final large carpentry project on our new outbuilding.

The project started about three weeks ago when I laid out and dug the post footings. (Deciding whether to dig the four 2-ft. dia. holes by hand or by machine had helped me to delay the project by months.) I ended up digging the holes by hand over three evenings after work. With help from Fine Homebuilding senior editor Andy Engel, we poured the footings at the end of the week. After another week of letting the concrete cure, I started the deck framing the following weekend.

Knowing the barn would eventually have a porch on the back, I cast a series of 3/4-in. rods into the slab for attaching the ledger. I thought this would make attaching the ledger really easy, but I didn’t anticipate the joists being lower than the top of the slab because of the decking thickness. After mulling over several fixes, I decided on a deeper ledger attached to the 2×6. This whole experience reinforced to me why wood-framed decks are a rarity in places where slab-on-grade construction is the norm.

Even with the obstacles and resultant backache, framing this deck was a lot of fun. I just wish my dad was still around to see what I’m up to and to offer his opinions. At least I can share my love of building with my own son. When he wanted to help, I turned him loose on the joist hangers with a palm nailer. I’m betting he’ll at least have a lifelong love of nail guns, if not carpentry.

You can read more about my barn here.

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  1. Araltan_Mandzhiev | Oct 22, 2013 03:36am | #1

    Thumbs up!

  2. neilhanks | Nov 06, 2013 09:50am | #2

    It's so sad to think that trade skills like these are being lost through the generations through new technologies and computers. Most kids just don't have the interest in woodworking and carpentry nowadays...What a great father-son activity! Great work!

  3. patrick_mccombe | Nov 07, 2013 10:33am | #3

    Thanks to both of you. The deck is now done. I'll add a picture to this blog or maybe I'll do another post describing the rail and stairs.

  4. johnb555 | Jul 05, 2016 12:07pm | #4

    I really like your barn. Classic proportions. Your son is not wearing safety goggles and his face is about 6" from that palm nailer. Just sayin...

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