So I want to design and build my own deck off the back of the house under the sliding doors. But I'm not having much luck searching the internet and I'd like to get some information before I start. My first problem is I don't know where to get building codes at for it. I want to keep it as cheap as possible so I don't wanna pay 40 bucks online to obtain them. Also want to try to work around them so I won't need a permit, but if I must I must, I don't want it to be illegal. Anybody have suggestions or the codes for my local area?

Second problem is there's a crawl space access right on the corner of the house where I want to build, and the end of the door sits right on top of the middle of this access. I can't find information or hints to whether I should just cover it up, or build the deck a little farther off the corner so I can still crawl in under it. Of course I would have to modify the door so I could open it, cuz it is about 3 inches below the sliding doors and hinged to open upwards. I haven't been in there yet but there are two more access doors farther down the house, it probably is mostly open but I just won't have ease of access to the whole space.

Oh I live in Browns Mills, NJ. I hope someone has tips or hints

thanks,
Dan

 

No matter where you live you probably need to have a permit to do any kind of remodeling of any sort. Just a heads up.

 

browns mills is pretty redneck. Id just build it -f-the permit its a total hassle. As long as your neighbors dont rat you out you be fine. there are soem good deck design software programs that are free on the net.

 

When he gets the house re-assessed,they are going to see the deck and jack up his taxes and possibly fine him for not getting a permit.

 

im not trying to get the guy in trouble. They didnt say **** about my big deck. I think if he was doing an addition or something the he would def need a permit.

 

but anyone know where I can get the codes so I can try to keep it as legal as possible? Where do you get the permits they'll have codes there

 

I'm a general contractor. The codes that we use to build by are international. The book is called international residential building codes, or IRC for short. Individual countys then amaned these codes if they want. You leagally need to get a permit but like other posts have stated, if your neigbors don't rat on you its your choice.

I would suggest you build it right and if someone comes along later, you could pay the fees and get it permited. If you don't build it right they will make you fix it and depending on what is wrong that could be a big problem.

In delaware the footer grade is 32" below the soil. I would find out what the depth is in your area and make sure the footers for the posts are right. Also take some photos of the depth and width of the footers so you can prove they were done right. Many countys have an inspection to make sure these are done right when you get a permit.

I have a link to the delaware site, it has a pdf file you can look at for what/how to build the deck as far as footer sizes, lumber specs etc. Again these are based on th IRC. I can't see many counties amending these.

PM me if you have more questions.

LINK; http://www.co.new-castle.de.us/landu.../webpage20.asp

Lowes/home depot also if given the size of a deck have programs to tell you the wood sizes and amount of what is needed as a way to get you to buy the lumber from them usually free.

 

great info morepower!! I don't see our codes being a lot different here since it's so close and pretty much the same weather. It gives me a good start on planning while I try to find our local codes. Thanks!

 

My father and I rebuilt our elevated deck last fall and had to pull all of the permits since we were modifying how the deck was anchored to the side of the house so id listen to everyone who told you to pull a permit and just get one. What are you going to use for building materials? We chose pressure treated wood but there are other options out there, one being a type of manufactured wood that is supposed to last longer than pressure treated, but I dont know a whole lot about it. Also, how large is the deck going to be and how high off the ground?

 

Height off the ground will determine how extensive of a permit you need. For PA, anything less than 30" is considered ground level and requires a general work permit, but not a building permit, which means you only need a final inspection for deck height.

 

frost line in NJ is 36" therefore your pored footings have to go a min of 36" below grade. NJ does fallow the International Building Code, you can pick it up in the library. I would get a permit for the deck, its not that hard to get if your town hall is not to busy. If you do not get one, and later on someone falls on your deck, brakes a leg or something, your homeowners insurance will not cover it and the person can sue you because the deck was built w/o a permit therefor never was inspected by a town official and certified that it was built to code.

I would use a manufactured product instead of pressure treated lumber, it may not look as natural, but it will save time in the long run. Off course all the large members, such as 6x6 totting posts and 10x2 or 12x2 joists should be pressure treated lumber.

 

Yea we have a 10 foot elevated huge deck off the second story of our house so we had to pull a building permit. On a side note I will never partcipate in building an elevated deck again...way too much of a pain in the *** lol!

 

That is fine if he even needs footers to begin with. But if he's building a ground level deck, which it sounds like since he mentioned a crawlspace, he can simply build on cinderblocks and not have to put in footers.

Honestly, do yourself a favor and stop in to the local township office and talk to the guy that is going to do the inspections. He will set you on the right path of what you need to do. I personally over-engineered mine and it's only 26" off the ground. I've got pressure treated 2x10 16" on center, with a span of only 8 feet between the doubled 2x12 main beams. I also put in 12" diameter 36" deep footers which is below our 28" frost line since we have a very dense clay soil base.

 

I dunno about that. As a recently graduated Architect I would not advise that. I would say to have a 12" OD 36" deep concrete footing with a galvanized bracket that raises the 6x6 post 1/2" off the footing to prevent rot. Then build from there.

If you set your deck on CMU's then there is nothing preventing it from sheer forces. Sure if will have enough weight to create enough friction to not move under normal circumstances, but in heavy winds there will be enough lateral force to move the deck off of a 8" wide CMU and cause it to collapse. Also water can undermine the ground under the CMU and cause it to sink, once again making the deck possibly collapse. Its simply a horrible idea in my opinion.

Its not that hard to rent an auger from Home Depot with a 12" OD bit, make a 36" hole, mix some Quickcreet and done. He will most likely only need 6 or 8 footings to begin with.

Using CMU's

 

Nice, simple and safe...

 

I agree 100% with what you're saying as I built my own deck two years ago and followed all of the codes 100%. But if we are talking about a ground level deck, I don't think you have a lot to worry about wind sheer forces, hence why universal building codes set a height of 30" as the cutoff. Plus if a deck less than 30" off the ground collapses, you're falling only 30". A second story deck is a different story all together.

It simply comes down to engineering for intended use. A ground level deck is engineered differently than an elevated deck the same way you can get away with putting a shed on a 4" gravel base but a garage needs to have footers to support the loads generated by the walls and roof. Would you pour footers for a 10x12 shed???

To camaroguy26, settle this by letting us know how high off the ground the deck is going to be and again, talk to your local building code inspector as they can steer you in the right direction.

Sometimes you don't need to go overboard.

 

sorry for not replying in so long I've been away from home, still in guam now, but wont' be back til the 27th. I do plan to do everything to code permit or not, but most likely will get a permit since I don't want any headaches later on if something happens. I just have to get the codes for it before I start putting too much design into it. The deck won't be very tall at all... I don't have my measurements with me but from the ground to the door is 19"? So I plan to build the top of the decking about 15 or 16" off the ground, whichever will make it easier for me. Since the deck is so short I'm thinking of just mounting 2 2x8's together for the beam directly in the post anchor (with the proper anchor raising it off the cement post) and having 2x6 joists on top of that. It should give me just about the height that I want. Not sure on size yet but I'm thinking about 16'x14' solely since there is a second crawl space hole farther down the house. Have one of the corners kinda angled off with steps going around most of 2 sides of the deck and a railing around the third side to give it some dimension and keep people from falling into the tree by the corner of the house.

That crawl space is giving me my biggest problem but I'll have to talk to the inspector about it.

1. If I use a ledger to anchor the deck to the house about 1.5' of that ledger will be directly over that crawl space hole, so I would have to properly fill the hole in with brick to have an attachment point for that ledger.
2. Or should I build a better door for it that sits inside the hole (the one on it now engulfs the hole and sticks out from the house 2 or 3 inches) and just build a deck detached from the house with extra posts and a beam? building a detached deck will be more expensive and labor extensive but it will save the hassle of filling that access in...
3. Do both, use a ledger up to the hole, then put two posts and a beam where the hole is. Since it will be on the very corner of the deck and won't have much traffic or weight on it, I can put enough cantilever on it to still have access to that hole. Will be tight but if I needed it I could get in there, even dig a little trench under the deck to the hole if I needed to, that is if the post is far enough away.

thanks for all your help and replies!

edit: as for materials I would use a pressure treated wood for beams and joists, then most likely that manmade decking. haven't decided on railing yet. A friend used the white plastic rails that looked nice, I think the white will accent the house well (it has the 4x4 rail posts but has covers for the posts) or I'll build my own out of posts, 2x2 balisters and the 2x6 cap of course but still thinking of painting it white. The house has light green aluminum siding with white trim.