This article series defines the parts & components of a deck and discusses building permits and code requirements needed for a do it yourself design-build deck project.

We describes critical safe-construction details for decks and porches, including avoiding deck or porch collapse and unsafe deck stairs and railings.

Page top photo: A code-compliant and safe deck, built by the author (DF) at Red Oaks Mill in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Deck & Porch Construction, Inspection, Repair & Safety Guide

Parts of a Deck or Porch

As a deck project begin to take shape, you will need to have a basic understanding of the structure of a typical deck.

Knowing the name and purpose of each part will also help you in talking with your lumberyard and the local building department, as well as any contractors or architects.

The photo, above-left, shows a tall deck project that quickly evolved into a covered porch. It was constructed for J Weeks by the author, Daniel Friedman, in 1983.

One of the project conditions requested by the owner was that this high deck should not be wobbly or bouncy (nor unsafe).

Decks consist of several layers of construction, each with its own components and function.

The ledger joins a deck to the house framing. Concrete piers, often resting on wider footings below ground, provide the deck’s ’solid connection with the ground.

Posts establish the height of the deck, tying the piers to on more beams. Joists attach ledger and beams, provide underlying frame for the d which is the surface layer.

If the deck is more than 2 feet above ground, it should be surrounded by a railing, which typically consists of posts, and balusters. Stairs are treads and sometimes risers attached to stringers, as well as a railing on each side.

Decks, like houses, are largely held together by lumber and fasteners. But houses have roofs, sheathing, and siding to protect them from the elements and add support. Decks, on the other hand, are exposed to all kinds of weather.

They can be buried in snow one season and baked in the sun the next, and may have to endure heavy foot traffic, deep freezes, and drenching rainfalls. When faced with such conditions, the materials that go into a deck are prone to deteriorate. Wood rots, fasteners loosen, metal rusts, and foundations may heave.

On many decks, shortcuts or simple errors made in planning or building accelerate the damage. A well-designed and well-constructed deck can survive intact for decades with regular maintenance. A poorly built and maintained deck can begin to deteriorate in just a couple of years.

Fine deck building may require that you spend a little more for materials, take a little longer on the construction, and take time to maintain and repair the deck as needed, but the results will be worth it.

Deck Building Building Permit and Deck Building Code Inspection Warnings

We inspected a deck built nearly eight feet above ground level, and without any railings. The owner wanted the view to remain unobstructed. The owner promptly asked us to convert the deck to a sun-porch using translucent corrugated roof panels. At the time of this photo safe railing balusters had not yet been installed.

At another New York deck that was built abutting the home but not attached to it, we also encountered deck high above the ground (about 8') with no railings whatsoever.

Our opinion was that this was a dangerous structure and that guard railings were needed. A local inspector examined the deck and opined that because the deck was a free standing structure, "building codes did not apply" and so no guardrail was "required". Our advice was that railings were needed for safety, regardless of that local opinion.

In most jurisdictions, home inspectors, building consultants, and builders are not permitted to declare that a structure does or does not comply with local, state, national, or modern building codes. That authority is reserved for the local building code compliance officer.

But in most jurisdictions a building permit and final building code compliance inspections are required to build a deck, regardless of whether or not the deck is attached to the principal structure.

And regardless of what any inspector claims about the "legal requirement" for guard rails on decks, we recommend that for safety, guard rails and stair railings (if stairs are installed) should be provided; if the deck is more than 3 ft. above ground level the requirement for guard railings and stair rails is required by model and most local building codes.

References on Deck Construction, Inspection, Safety

• Manual for the Inspection of Residential Wood Decks and Balconies, by Cheryl Anderson, Frank Woeste (Forest Products Society), & Joseph Loferski, October 2003, ISBN-13: 978-1892529343,
• Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide, [PDF] based on the 2009 International Residential Code, American Forest & Paper Association, Inc., provided by reader Mark Morsching from Everflashing.
• Manual for the Inspection of Residential Wood Decks and Balconies, by Cheryl Anderson, Frank Woeste (Forest Products Society), & Joseph Loferski, October 2003, ISBN-13: 978-1892529343,
• NADA, 10-POINT CONSUMER SAFETY CHECKLIST [PDF] North American Deck and Railing Association, NADRA, http://nadra.org/ 888.623.7248, Quoting:
  
  The mission of the North American Deck and Railing Association (NADRA) is to provide a unified source for the professional development, promotion, growth, and sustenance of the Deck and Railing building industry in North America so that members can exceed the expectations of their customers.
• LSS, "Outdoor Deck and Porch Injury Study", Legacy Services LLC., http://www.buildingonline.com/news/pdfs/Outdoor-Deck-and-Porch-Injury-Study.pdf [No named authors, address] also includes the next 3 citations below.
• Consumer Product Safety Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/neiss.html
• Kessler, E. and T. Schroeder. (1998). National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) Estimated Generalized Relative Sampling Errors. Washington, DC: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
• National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA) and Whorton Marketing & Research (WM&R) Climbability, Research, Analysis, and Communications Planning document, May 31, 2006.
• Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also Wiley.com.
  
  See our BOOK REVIEW of Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction
• Building Failures, Diagnosis & Avoidance, 2d Ed., W.H. Ransom, E.& F. Spon, New York, 1987 ISBN 0-419-14270-3
• Building Pathology, Deterioration, Diagnostics, and Intervention, Samuel Y. Harris, P.E., AIA, Esq., ISBN 0-471-33172-4, John Wiley & Sons, 2001 [General building science-DF] ISBN-10: 0471331724 ISBN-13: 978-0471331728
• Design of Wood Structures - ASD, Donald E. Breyer, Kenneth Fridley, Kelly Cobeen, David Pollock, McGraw Hill, 2003, ISBN-10: 0071379320, ISBN-13: 978-0071379328
• Diagnosing & Repairing House Structure Problems, Edgar O. Seaquist, McGraw Hill, 1980 ISBN 0-07-056013-7 (obsolete, incomplete, missing most diagnosis steps, but very good reading; out of print but used copies are available at Amazon.com, and reprints are available from some inspection tool suppliers).
  
  Ed Seaquist was among the first speakers invited to a series of educational conferences organized by D Friedman for ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors, where the topic of inspecting the in-service condition of building structures was first addressed.
• Schutt, Craig A., IMPROVING DECK SAFETY [PDF] Dealers can save lives and prevent accidents while expanding their sales by encouraging customers to refurbish the millions of unsafe decks nationwide." [PDF], LBM Journal, May/June 2011, website : Photojournalism, retrieved 2018/04/11, original source: http://www.britannica.com/briefs/nadir/NADRA_Deck_Safety_050611.pdf [Dead link in 2024 - Ed.]
• Sullivan, Aleca John Leeke, PERSERVING HISTORIC WOOD PORCHES [PDF] Preservation Brief #No. 35, US NPS, - retrieved 2022/06/30, original source: https://www.nps.gov/tps/how-to-preserve/briefs/45-wooden-porches.htm adapted and re-printed in color by InspectApedia
  Excerpt:
  
  This Preservation Brief provides guidance for the everyday care of wood porches on older buildings. It focuses primarily on the maintenance and repair of wood porches, but acknowledges other, often challenging, work as well.
  
  This publication provides a brief history of the American porch and identifies its basic structural and decorative elements. It outlines how to assess the condition of a wood porch, how much work may be needed, and how to develop a specific scope of work.
  
  Detailed guidance on each level of work is provided, beginning with routine maintenance, followed by general repairs for various porch components, and concluding with replacement of parts that are beyond repair.
  
  Recommendations are provided for work that may require professional assistance. Although the Brief primarily addresses residential buildings, much of the information can be applied to wood porches on any structure.
• See additional sources at the end of this page atReferences or Citations

...

---

---

ADVERTISEMENT

---

---

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Where can I find the code and requirements for building exterior wooden stairs?

where are exterior step requirements - On 2020-05-26 by exterior stairs -

Reply by (mod) - where are exterior step requirements ?

Glad to help, Ext.

The specifications for designing and building stairs are in the ARTICLE INDEX above where you'll start at one of these two articles

STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS https://inspectapedia.com/Stairs/Stairs.php

or

STAIR DIMENSIONS, WIDTH, HEIGHT

uilding with cedar log guard posts & railings

where can I find info on building with cedar log guard posts and railings for a deck - On 2018-08-24 by jim - B

Reply by (mod) -

Not sure what you're asking.

There are several brands of bolts and connectors that can bolt through a ledger board into a masonry wall or foundation - if that's your situation. Each will have its particular application and installation details.

Some examples are at Fasteners Plus

Do Dynabolt metal braces work to connect deck to house?

Dynabolt or metal braces to attach deck to house? - On 2018-05-15 by candice -

Reply by (mod) -

I'm not finding Dyna Bolt wood framing fasteners, but yes, structural wood screws are often used to connect girders to posts and ledgers to buildings.

See details about how to connect the deck to the house

at

• DECK LEDGER BOARDS
  

also see these LEDGER LOK TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS [PDF]

and

An example from TimberLOK is below.

 

Do I need a landing at my patio door?

I need to build stairs up to an exterior 6' wide patio door. Top of door threshold is 30" above grade. Does code require a landing? Do stairs need to be 6' wide (door width)? Im located in MN. Thanks in advance! - On 2016-06-20 by BeckCo -

Reply by (mod) -

Beck

Short answer: for a slider you aren't required to build a landing platform. But I would either make the steps no less than the width of the open area of the door (preferred) or you'll need to construct a ridiculous-looking guardrail across the door opening to force the user to walk down more-narrow stairs.

Here are some details:

Typical Minnesota stair codes state

A landing is required at the top and bottom of each stairway.

A landing is not required at the top of an interior flight of stairs provided a door does not
swing over the stairs.

The width (perpendicular to the direction of travel) of the landing shall not be less than the width
of the stairway it is serving.

The depth (in the direction of travel) of the landing shall not be less than 36”.

Landings shall have a maximum slope of one-unit vertical in 48-units horizontal (2% slope).

Guards shall be provided for landings that are more than 30” above grade.

Your local building official is the final legal authority on what's required by way of stair landings where you live. Certainly I see sliding doors that open directly to a single step rather than (the preferred) landing; the builder argues that there is no door swinging "out" and thus the "landing" equivalent is the interior floor. Not all building inspectors buy that view.

The landing platform (or step if you get away with that) should be at least the width of the door opening space.

Using St. Cloud as an example of minnesota stair building codes,

see http://www.ci.stcloud.mn.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/786

 

Does the Deck Have to Be Attached to the Building?

Does a deck have to bge connected to the building, or could it be free standing? - On 2016-03-30 by Anonymous

Reply by (mod) - No but ...

Anon: a deck can certainly be free standing. But

Watch out: I've seen the "free standing" deck design used as a trick to run around building code compliance. At a home inspection I saw a deck 8 ft. above ground with no guardrails. I noted to my client that falling off such a deck would surely injure someone and that guardrails were badly needed.

The deck was built free-standing, about 1" from the wall of the house and entered by a sliding door from the house.

The owner, incensed, called his local building department for a defense.

The building inspector who had issued a CO on this travesty - this unsafe construction - bailed himself out by saying "OK, well the deck is not attached to the house so I don't have to inspect it and it's not part of the structure" and the owner said "OK so building codes don't apply" (which is not the case everywhere)

My reply is that "building codes may not apply" as the local inspector is the final authority.

But when somebody falls off the deck and breaks their neck, their neck is still broken, and if that's not bad enough, you can figure that their lawyer won't accept a defense that the unsafe deck was, in that jurisdiction, "legal" as any moron can see that for safety it needed guardrailis.

As you can hear, I'm still upset by this fiasco, decades later. We don't need to kill anybody just to sell our home.

Not that this applies to you, Anonymous.

OK to upgrade a 4x4 post to a 6x6 post ?

any issues with upgrading a 4x4 post to a 6x6 post on a 8 inch pier? height is 32 inches If so what issue does it cause to the pier? On 2016-03-20 by Anonymous -

Reply by Mod

As long as the pier was properly built in the first place, and as long as you make a structural connection between the pier top and the post bottom I expect your building code compliance inspector to be satisfied.

...

Continue reading at DECK DESIGN & BUILD or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• CRACKS CHECKS SPLITS in BEAMS, LOGS & POSTS - cracks versus breaking and collapsing posts or beams
• DECK COLLAPSE Case Study
• DECK CONSTRUCTION BEST PRACTICES
• DECK DESIGN & BUILD
• DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION - home - comparison of good and bad deck or porch construction methods.
• DECK FLASHING LEAKS, ROT Case Study - an older deck with rot collapses due to improper construction and missing building flashing
• DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION - home
• DREAM PORCHES & SUNROOMS - design ideas
• POOL CONCRETE COOL DECK SURFACES
• PORCH COLUMN REPAIR or REPLACEMENT
• PORCH CONSTRUCTION & SCREENING
• STAIR CODES & STANDARDS

Suggested citation for this web page

DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

Or see this

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING DECKS & PORCHES

Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Or see

INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to BUILDING STRUCTURES

Or use the SEARCH BOX found below to Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Ask a Question or Search InspectApedia

Try the search box just below, or if you prefer, post a question or comment in the Comments box below and we will respond promptly.

Note: appearance of your Comment below may be delayed: if your comment contains an image, photograph, web link, or text that looks to the software as if it might be a web link, your posting will appear after it has been approved by a moderator. Apologies for the delay.

Only one image can be added per comment but you can post as many comments, and therefore images, as you like.
You will not receive a notification when a response to your question has been posted.
Please bookmark this page to make it easy for you to check back for our response.
Our Comment Box is provided by Countable Web Productions countable.ca

Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

---

ADVERTISEMENT

---