Framing a free standing deck

by Sean
(Waterloo Canada)

I'm planning on building a deck in my backyard in the fall, and have everything sorted except for one thing. I decided to go with a free standing deck.

I'll be digging holes for 6x6 posts every 4 feet along the house, and my support beam will end up about 1.5 feet off the house. (Or as close as I can get the auger to the house foundation)

The joists will run perpendicular to the house and over hang the beam so I can bring the decking as close to the house as possible.

My problem is, how do I attach the rim board to the joists, when there will only be approx 1 inch space between the rim board and the house.....

I have heard of people building the joist/rim assembly first, then 'sliding' the assembly into place before toe nailing the joists to the beams. I would prefer not to do this.....
Any suggestions?

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Jul 23, 2011
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Frame the joists, slide it in position
by: Editor - Rich Bergman

The simplest way is to frame the structure while it sits on the beams and them slide it closer to the house before fastening the framing in place on the beams.

There is no need to toe nail the joists to the rim joist as the only means of fastening. I am just building a very similar deck and I slid it in place once framed. One of the platforms was 16'x14'. Not hard to do.

I would also like to suggest to you that I have a very cool new deck footing system due to arrive in August that I think you will find very helpful and save you a ton of money and time.

Its called the Titan Deck Foot and its been under intense development for the past two years. It's a patent pending helical anchor with a load cap plate that screws into the ground for a secure connection using only a hand held impact wrench. Just like a drill.

I installed 24 anchors in about 4 hours once the site had been prepared and leveled.

I am just finishing up a very beautiful three level cascading free standing deck around a hot tub with tons of pictures and video to show you.

The anchors allow you to build low level decks within 2" above grade which no other system can do. So you may find this to be a good option. You can call us to find out more 1-866-577-8868.

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