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jstrahm
Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Posts: 3
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 Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 9:34 pm Post subject: Deck/ Porch Foundation Question |
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| What is better to do concerning a 30 SQ. FT. deck (6' wide by 5' deep) from the house to a concrete patio? Would you pour a column of concrete for the post, pour around a 4x4 post or build the deck/porch on top of 4" concrete patio? Just curious to know what would be recommend before I have the patio poured. |
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goddess girl
Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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What is the functional purpose of the deck?
From what I can gather from its size, it seems that it's only to serve as a landing off your house, with stairs to the lower concrete patio. |
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jstrahm
Joined: 21 Mar 2006
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 6:52 pm Post subject: |
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| The purpose of this deck is just a transition for the back door to the patio. |
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goddess girl
Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2006 5:46 am Post subject: Footings for your Deck |
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If the deck is being used as a means of exit from your home, you need to have footings that go below the frost line in your area. Here is a link for the deck codes for WI, which are adopted by most cities and towns in WI.
WI Comm 21.225 Decks
Check with your local building inspector to see what's required. If you need a footing below the frost line, I would use the concrete "Pier" column on a bell shaped footing for each supporting 4x4. If you read the WI code, the size of the footing depends on the type of soil and the size of the deck (or how much weight that pier is supporting).
A concrete pier acts as a solid, unchangeable structure to transfer the weight of the deck to the footing below the frost line. The footing, which is typically larger in area than the pier, disperses this weight over a greater area. The footing lowers the pounds-per-square-foot, so the support structure for the deck doesn't settle over time. Hence the size requirements based upon loads and soil types. As I said before, the footing should be bell shaped. This is for decks built in northern states, and prevents frost upheaval.
So to answer your question, I would pour a concrete pier with a bell shaped footing that goes below the frost line, and use a metal post base to attach the 4x4 support post to the concrete pier. You can get these metal post bases at any home improvement store. Some are secured to the pier with bolts after the concrete sets, and some are set in pier during the pour.
Decks.com is a great website on decks that's very extensive on designing and building decks. Check it out! |
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Ryl22
Joined: 30 Sep 2010
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 1:58 am Post subject: |
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| I'm new on this forum and am grateful to have found the advice on decks. I'm doing multiple renovations to my house and the deck is coming up on the list. Thanks everyone! |
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