Balcony Construction

So we decided our balcony was finally bad enough we needed to tear it down and construct a new one. I talked to my sister and she sent out a crew. They are fast and work hard but I’m worried the construction might not be up to code. The balcony has what looks like a 4-6″ difference between the back and front. The slope is at least in slated in the right direction…

What do you guys think? Redwood construction.

Yea if its not level they need to fix that. I would also want to make sure the ledger is bolted down good, and flashed properly. I also thing the 2 4×4 posts isn’t enough for all of that weight. The other thing is the rim joist should be doubled. There is a lot of issues I can see with this Balcony/ Deck

What size should the post be? Can we wrap it or does it have to be solid? I took a level to it, the bubble even outs if I lift the level about an inch. Does that mean I have a 1inch slant over 12ft? The ledger looks well bolted and the rim joist is doubled

You don’t have to change the posts you could just add one in the middle to add additional load capacity. I might be wrong I’m not 100% sure on that I would check local codes because your in a seismic area they might want higher load ratings than other areas. That sounds about right on the slope it shouldn’t be that steep you only need a little bit of a kick down to keep water away.

I think I’ll have them change it to a 6×6 and rais it about half an inch. I think 1/4″ per 10′ is about the right slope. It’s only about 12′ long so anything over 1″ is too steep. I’ll update tomorrow

I jumped in and worked with the crew today. Got most everything straightened out. Went with 4×6 pillars and closed up the spacing on the floor joist. Took out the slope with the new pillars. The only thing not to code, (to the best of my knowledge) the footing needs to be larger. That will be a project for another week. Guess the age ol’ saying.. If you want something done right… Do it yourself. Pictures coming soon

That’s good to hear. The 4×6 posts should work out fine and the closer spacing on the floor joist will make it less springy and feel more solid. What was their original spacing on the floor joists? 24 inches?

It was under 24″ but on the two end sides it was a bit more so that’s the spots we closed the gap. I also primed the joints that would be hidden or overlapped when constructed and the top. Everything is built and the concreat is drying. Tomorrow a few coats of paint and remove the temp supports. A view from our master bedroom… (Primer only)

Upside down?

We have a lot of work left on this house, next are the windows and kitchen.

Yea, Conductor used to have issues with his pictures being upside down it ended up being some sort of problem with Apple computers.

Posted that last one on an iPad.. Apple has an auto rotate thing.. It works well on apple products, guess it doesn’t play well with the rest of the world.

If you want to meet code you have a few things you have to do. To start you should have to rows of lags staggered with 5″ max between rows attaching the ledger. I don’t see any lateral attachments for lateral loads. As of 2012 this is required on all decks @ 2 locations with a 1500 pound rating. Your railing would fail and the min size of a footer is 12″

I know about the footer and plain to fix that but what’s the lateral support your talking about? I can’t find reference to that anywhere. Also, what’s wrong with the railing? I’ll post more pics tomorrow. The job is “finished” but I’ll fix anything you guys recommend. Code be dammed, I want this thing to be safe!

From the photos it looks like you have the balusters attached to your joist and rim joist that is not allowed. Here is a link that shows you what lateral support is all about as well as other deck issues. Basically what lateral support is, it is a way of attaching you deck to your floor joist in side your home. Lateral support has just come about in the last few years. Here in Maryland they are cracking down on lateral support and railing issues. I have had a few people call me after their insurance company came out and did and inspection to renew and had to fix their deck that they had built in the last year or so and if said problems where not fixed they would be canceled.

http://www.awc.org/pdf/education/20140522_webinar_dca6_2012ircversion.pdf

Thanks regopit, that’s a good presentation. I’ll look into it so more tonight.

Simpson Strongtie has a strap that will handle the railing issues. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKr-o9K006k

I hope that you do not think that I’m picking apart your work, the work that I can see looks fine. It is the crap you don’t see or think about that comes back to bite you in the ass. I know that you want it to be safe and I do not think that you will have 50 plus people dancing on it but you never know. In addition, you live in Mission Viejo, Ca and the ground likes to move every now and then. 

regopit wrote:

I hope that you do not think that I’m picking apart your work, the work that I can see looks fine. It is the crap you don’t see or think about that comes back to bite you in the ass. I know that you want it to be safe and I do not think that you will have 50 plus people dancing on it but you never know. In addition, you live in Mission Viejo, Ca and the ground likes to move every now and then. 

On the contrary regopit, I really appreciate you taking the time and reviewing my work. I’m not a pro contractor, hell I don’t even pretend to be on the same level as you guys. I can slap a few board together and sometimes build some cool stuff but I don’t know it all, especially the building codes and requirements. I try and do my homework and research as much as possible but no amount of studying can make up for years of experience. I thank all of you who tell me my work is shit or subpar, the only way to learn is by doing and failing, re-doing and succeeding.

In reality I should be paying you for your advice, Tools In Action is a great resource and I am very appreciative of everyone who contributes.

With my new job I will be building some crazy stuff and look forward to bouncing ideas off your guys. 🙂