Hello. I'm working on fixing up my deck. Frankly, I would like to tear it down and have it rebuilt, but the cost is prohibitive. So, I'm trying to extend its life for a few years by replacing the decking and repairing railings.
The original decking was plywood, and was crumbling when we bought the house. The joists underneath appear to be sound, with no indication of rot. However, they're aligned parallel to the ledger board and house, which I've never seen before. Coming off the ends of the ledger are 2x10 rim joists, and the deck's joists are run between those. Additionally, the previous decking was screwed into the top of the ledger. There was no flashing on the ledger, which I intend to correct. But then if I screw into the ledger again, it defeats the purpose of the flashing. I'm thinking about hanging another joist a few inches from the ledger to fasten in to instead. Thoughts on this whole situation?
Secondly, the ledger seems to have styrofoam sheathing behind it. It seems to be fastened to the house by means of about 6 lag screws, and nails. There is no basement access to the house's rim joist in that area to use through-bolts. The 6 lag screws doesn't seem like it's enough for a ledger length of about 12 feet. Should I liberally connect some more lag screws, LedgerLoks, etc?
Again, I know I'm doing a half-arsed job on this, and it's torturing me to do it halfway. I'm trying to buy a couple of years before I can afford a proper replacement.
The original decking was plywood, and was crumbling when we bought the house. The joists underneath appear to be sound, with no indication of rot. However, they're aligned parallel to the ledger board and house, which I've never seen before. Coming off the ends of the ledger are 2x10 rim joists, and the deck's joists are run between those. Additionally, the previous decking was screwed into the top of the ledger. There was no flashing on the ledger, which I intend to correct. But then if I screw into the ledger again, it defeats the purpose of the flashing. I'm thinking about hanging another joist a few inches from the ledger to fasten in to instead. Thoughts on this whole situation?
Secondly, the ledger seems to have styrofoam sheathing behind it. It seems to be fastened to the house by means of about 6 lag screws, and nails. There is no basement access to the house's rim joist in that area to use through-bolts. The 6 lag screws doesn't seem like it's enough for a ledger length of about 12 feet. Should I liberally connect some more lag screws, LedgerLoks, etc?
Again, I know I'm doing a half-arsed job on this, and it's torturing me to do it halfway. I'm trying to buy a couple of years before I can afford a proper replacement.
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