# Building a wood deck attached to a brick house



## VictorT (Sep 20, 2016)

Dear Woodworkers,

After seeing alot of YT videos (especially the US decking experts;-) i've tried to build my own deck. It al started with an idea instead of a concrete plan. Because off all the miscalculations, it takes some more time, and is divided into parts ;-) I would love to hear your comments on both the woodworking aswell as on the video...Kind regards, Victor


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

Where do you find workers that work so fast? Might help to find some that work a little slower. There should be caulk or some kind of sealant between the board fastened to the house. In winter water will get between the wood and the house and freeze causing the anchors to pull through the wood loosening it.


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## Saw Dust Rules (Jul 21, 2018)

Thanks for sharing. It’s always nice to see designs from other countries and compare them to our building code. For example that cement block corner support would be over kill in the states. Where I live (Upstate NY) we need to dig below the frost line (42” or just over 1 meter) then fill it with concrete and then finally set wood post tomsupport the deck. Might sound easy but the last Ice Age deposited Medina Stone all over the north east US and you can’t dig into the ground just a few inches without hitting the rocks! Miserable job! 

We also have an interesting law in our town for decks and other outside structures. If the deck is attached to the house (we call that a ledger board) then it is considered a permanent improvement and you pay additional taxes, assuming you got the appropriate permit approval first. If you do not get the permit then you are fined. If the deck is free standing then it is not considered permanent and you pay no additional tax. If the deck is more than 3 feet off the ground it must have a railing. 

So how do they know if you have a deck or pool or out building on your property? One every few years they hire a company to fly over the neighborhoods and take photos of properties then compare them to the previous years photos. Now I think they use google satellite images and soon drones. Pretty sad when you’d think about it.

So good luck with the deck! Hopefully you can have a deck party when the Dutch team is back in the World Cup along with the US and Italy!


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## Mikhail2400 (Jun 20, 2018)

For someone who started this with no plan and just an idea it sure seems to be going off according to a plan. Nice work. Be a nice addition for you and your family to enjoy. 
Thank goodness I live in the country. Couldnt handle having neighbors so close to me.


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## VictorT (Sep 20, 2016)

Thanks for all the usefull and funny comments ;-) Keep them coming! Yes, the blocks are overkill here too! I've put sealant between the wood and brick, good tip! Part 3 is ready, part 4 almost (kinda unstructural or logic build up in things, it all comes together...) Greetings


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

I built a two level 13'x26' deck at our old house. I did not attach it to the house at all. Each level sat on nine 6x6 posts set in concrete. The deck was built right up to the vinyl siding so I didn't have to remove anything. The decks were in place for over twenty years and never moved. This method worked very well when I took the deck down to replace it with a concrete patio of the same size.


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## VictorT (Sep 20, 2016)

Jim Frye said:


> I built a two level 13'x26' deck at our old house. I did not attach it to the house at all. Each level sat on nine 6x6 posts set in concrete. The deck was built right up to the vinyl siding so I didn't have to remove anything. The decks were in place for over twenty years and never moved. This method worked very well when I took the deck down to replace it with a concrete patio of the same size.


I would have done this aswell if i could. In my case it wasn't an option to break down the concrete border around the house, for several reasons. Therefore i chose to let it rest on the border and attach it to the house with anchor bolts.


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## VictorT (Sep 20, 2016)

And part 4 is ready Feedback is welcome! On to part 5, 6 ......


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## EverythingWood (Nov 27, 2018)

Thanks for sharing, Victor.
I'm planing to build my own deck next year. Following your topic.


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## VictorT (Sep 20, 2016)

Hi all,

Part 5 is ready, just ordered the roof, so part 6 will be ready for the winter ;-) Love to hear your advice and comments!


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

That is a good looking deck. A few things I see that I would have done different. I would have never allowed the wood to rest on that concrete, it will rot there faster than anywhere as it will hold water much longer.

Another thing is, I would have sealed the bolt holes that are bolted through the brick. There would be a solid structural member under the ledger board. Had that been vinyl, there would have been flashing at the ledger board with a lip under the siding. I wouldn't have used concrete blocks, but 6X6 posts but that is just a preference, either way is good.

I am not trying to bad mouth your work, you did a great job I haven't watched the other videos just yet and you may have already done what I suggested. Here in this area it wouldn't have been a suggestion, it would have been code.


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## red68mgb (Aug 21, 2019)

I just built a deck/porch for a neighbor. I did work with the code office and no problems. In our town (in central NY), the code office is fine to work with as long as you don't try to play games with them.

What they looked for was:
-How the ledger (assuming you use one) is attached to the house with appropriate flashing and hardware. I like to put a layer of ice/water shield under the ledger, and then a drip cap that goes under the tyvek and over the ledger. Direct that water away from the house!

-Joists attached to ledger with hangers.

-Any steps must follow the code, which to me is a major common sense/safety issue anyway.

-Handrails are necessary if it's over 18" high, if I recall correctly, and have specific requirements as to heights, baluster spacing, and attachment to posts.

-There's a good diagram the code office gave me as a guide for joist size/spacing/overhang. I'll try to find it and post it if needed. 

I don't know if this is code, but I like to use 6x6 for the posts and notch them so the carrier beam is supported by the post. I've seem some where the beam has a couple of carriage bolts through a 4x4. A deck held up by a couple of bolts would make me nervous. Or some people scab on a 2x to support the beam.

The decking material used also affects framing. For example, I know some composite decking used for the steps calls for the stringers 12" oc.

Of course, some of these points don't apply if the deck is freestanding.


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