Is my deck safe?

[heat seeker]

Hi all,
I recently read in a magazine that a deck should be bolted to the house. My deck appears to be nailed to the house. The deck is at least 10 years old, was on the house when we bought it. It shows no signs of separating from the house, but it's about 7 feet up, and a collapse would be serious. Should I get some lag bolts and bolt it to the house? If so, what is the spacing, and size of bolts I should use. I have power equipment to drive them in, and a ½" drill to make pilot holes. Question is, should I do it?
The deck is about 8 feet wide from the house, if that matters, and is supported by large posts along the outside edge.
In extreme cold weather, I occasionally hear what I assume is the deck adjusting itself - sounds like a loud crack/creak sharp report.

Thanks!

 

[CJ-SR4ever]

It certainly wouldnt be a bad idea to add some lag bolts. Does it seem loose at all?

 

[fishingpol]

Lags would be good. 2 Bolts in every other bay if your joists run perpindicular to the house. Long enough to go through the ledger board, through the sheathing and into the sill or rim joist. 1/2 galvanized bolts with washers, probably 5" long or in that area. Make sure there are no wires or pipes on the inside. I've heard of people putting a lag into house wiring before.

 

[heat seeker]

The deck seems tight to the house.

fishingpol, do you mean 2 bolts in one bay, then skip a bay, repeat? How far apart do the bolts go in each bay - at each end of the bay? The joists do run perpendicular to the house. I think I'd be okay with 5" bolts, but will have to check. There is a finished ceiling along most of the inside, but there is a 5' section that's not finished that I can check. I hadn't considered wiring or plumbing along the inside - thanks! There is bound to be some, since the deck is outside of the kitchen. Nothing is easy...

Thanks for the replies!

 

[jimbom]

Forest Products Laboratory. Wood handbook

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/fplgtr/fplgtr190/chapter_08.pdf

See pages 8-11, 8-12, and 8-13 for the straight skinny on lag screws in wood.

Decks sometimes fail during parties when a lot of people go outside to cool off or get some air. I would take a quick look at the other fasteners while you are at it.

 

[heat seeker]

Wow, who'd have thought that there was that much to it!

There are never more than 4 people on the deck at any one time, but I would rather err on the side of caution. I don't know how well it was built, or when. It does show up on the town records, but no date. If it's original, it's over 35 years old. Maybe I'm concerned for nothing, but then again, maybe it's important. For the price of a few bolts and some time, I'd have more peace of mind - unless I hit a pipe or wire!

Jimbo, which fasteners are you referring to?

 

[jimbom]

Besides the deck nailed to the house, the other fasteners would be the connections between the joists/beams and the beams/columns. If nails, then how do they look? Perhaps a connector here and there would insure long safe service.

 

[fishingpol]

The deck seems tight to the house.

fishingpol, do you mean 2 bolts in one bay, then skip a bay, repeat? How far apart do the bolts go in each bay - at each end of the bay? The joists do run perpendicular to the house. I think I'd be okay with 5" bolts, but will have to check. There is a finished ceiling along most of the inside, but there is a 5' section that's not finished that I can check. I hadn't considered wiring or plumbing along the inside - thanks! There is bound to be some, since the deck is outside of the kitchen. Nothing is easy...

Thanks for the replies!

Correct. Two in each bay is sufficient, skipping every other bay. Bolts should be one higher and one lower, but not next to one another. I believe this reduces chances of the ledger board splitting if all the bolts are on the same line. I'll get a picture up tomorrow. Typically there will not be plumbing in an outside wall due to pipes freezing, see if the water feed lines come up through the bottom of the sink cabinet or through the back wall. Wiring may have been run for lighting, dishwasher or a disposer. If so, keep the bolts just long enough to go into the framing, or put them low so they will go into the sill and not through the rim joist that typically sits on the sill plate.

 

[gzecc]

Hi all,
I recently read in a magazine that a deck should be bolted to the house. My deck appears to be nailed to the house. The deck is at least 10 years old, was on the house when we bought it. It shows no signs of separating from the house, but it's about 7 feet up, and a collapse would be serious. Should I get some lag bolts and bolt it to the house? If so, what is the spacing, and size of bolts I should use. I have power equipment to drive them in, and a ½" drill to make pilot holes. Question is, should I do it?
The deck is about 8 feet wide from the house, if that matters, and is supported by large posts along the outside edge.
In extreme cold weather, I occasionally hear what I assume is the deck adjusting itself - sounds like a loud crack/creak sharp report.

Thanks!

Safe is relative. Code now requires lag screws into the house framing. The most likely failure of a deck is at the connection to the house.

 

[homebrewz]

What about adding supports to the ground on the house side too?

 

[woodsmaster]

You need to locate the wall studs and put a lag bolt in each one threw the ledger board. Do one high on the board and the next low next high and so on.

 

[heat seeker]

What about adding supports to the ground on the house side too?

Not a bad idea, but overkill in this case. I'd probably have to add footings for the supports, as the deck is over dirt. But thank you!

 

[heat seeker]

Thanks for all the replies!
The plumbing looks like it's away from the ledger board, and also the wiring. I'll be adding bolts soon. There are no signs of impending failure, but I'd rather overbuild than take a chance. Bolts are cheap, accidents are costly in many ways.

JimboM, I just reread your post - I'll have to take a look and see - hadn't thought about that. Good catch!

 

[Hogwildz]

Why not use hangers?

 

[heat seeker]

The deck has its own board that runs along the house (I don't know the proper name), so hangers won't help. I want to secure that board to the house in a better way - such as running bolts through it into the ledger board of the house. The joists run perpendicular to this board, and are secured by hangers already.
Thanks for the thought, though!

 

[gpcollen1]

i feel your pain as the ledger board for my deck/addition was put over the siding, though they did use lag bolts. I added a few more lags to help me sleep at night.

 

[gzecc]

i feel your pain as the ledger board for my deck/addition was put over the siding, though they did use lag bolts. I added a few more lags to help me sleep at night.

Its just amazing what some people will do!