had an idea/question… is there any inherent design flaw in not using a ledger board in building an exterior deck? elevation is <3′ and i felt i could build my first beam 12-16″ from house to avoid messing w/ existing siding. in the past i had always used ledger board, but felt this could work. am i asking for trouble w/ settling of backfill and deck not moving w/ structure or vice versa? home is approx. 2-3 yrs. old. thanks.
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Replies
Ya, you will only get me to bolt a ledger to your wall with a fight.
If possible, I build decks off of a piece of steel angle bolted to the foundation. I have the angle cut 2" wide and have the hole for the inner rim of the frame punched so that the finish decking will be 1/2" away from the finish siding.
I've seen brackets at a lumber yard that more or less do the same thing, but they are one size fits all, and they want more than I want to pay for them.
There's nothing at all wrong with doing a freestanding deck. One advantage is that if later you change your mind and want to demo the deck, there's nothing you have to fix on the house itself.
-- J.S.