Learn why decks fail and how to install a deck 💪 #decks #learn #carpentry #flashing

This is why decks fail. Your beam and your ledger is what holds up your deck. Chuck your ledger height. Flash is above and below your ledger. Attach your ledger. Ledgers get installed into the rim joist. For a ledger, you'll never have fasteners 2 in from the top and the side or 3/4 in from the bottom. Distance from the top to bottom fastener will be 1 and 5/8 or more. The rim joist is the opposite. Two at the bottom, 3/4 at the top. Ledger can get installed anywhere in this green zone. If I install this ledger too low, it can split [snorts] your rim joist. Footing diameter is determined by the weight of the deck, not the size of your post. Taller decks need thicker posts. Shorter decks can get thinner posts. Measure off structure and make a mark for your hole. Dig out your footing below your frost depth. Hand digging's hard. Augers are a lot easier. Pour concrete. Either bury a post 1 ft minimum, wet set a bracket, or mark and drill out a bracket that has stand-off. If this corrodes or the bottom of the post rots, it's much easier to replace. Water doesn't easily penetrate a cross grain, but it can easily travel up through end grain. Add a temp screw and level out your joist. Measure down your footing and cut your post. Laminate your beam from both sides. Install your beam. Either lag your beam or install a post to beam connector. Install your joist with hangers. And run your joist longer than your deck. When installing toenails, you use the right size fastener. If you use too short of a nail, this joist can easily pull out. These short nails don't go into the ledger. If you use the right nail, it attaches the joist to the ledger. If you install the right size nail, this is much stronger. Square up your perpendicular joist and doing a three, four, and a diagonal five. Copy your ledger layout onto your beam. If you have no blocking, it can cause twisting and deflection. When you add blocking, now if we try to twist, the other joist add rigidity. Measure out your deck length and chalk line your overhang. Snap, then mark, and cut your tails. Nail your rim [snorts] joist. Tape your ledger. Install cap flashing. Fold down the house wrap and tuck your house wrap under. And this piece under. Now any rain water that hits this and can drip down. Install your post and only use deck screws. You can easily knock this over. If the post gets installed with lags and full blocking, makes this post super strong. Measure from finished deck height down to your ground height. Install backing and then you can install your stairs. When your grooved edge meets up with the square edge, it has bearing. This board doesn't sit on a joist. When you step on these boards, they'll flex, fall through. Install your joist tape. Joist tape keeps your joist dry. Here's a fastener with joist tape. Here's a fastener without. After a 24-hour soak, neither fastener leaked through. If we dumped this, water soaked through the screw and penetrated about a quarter inch down. The side with the tape still that water through the screw, but got a lot less penetration. Install deck boards, account for fascia. Make two marks and chalk a line. Set your depth. Cut your line. Install your picture frame. Install frames and stairs with screws. The thicker bottom section makes your stairs strong. If we use smaller dimensional lumber or overcut our stairs, then your stairs will not be strong. Thanks for watching.