Attaching balustrade post to rim joist - how to reinforce?

[Michael80]

I'm currently adding balustrade posts to our new deck. Deck is just over 1m high, with 90x90 cypress pine balustrade posts bolted to the rim joist of the deck.

I'm going to need to reinforce the connection between the rim joist and main joists to make sure it doesn't start pulling away when someone leans on the railing. I can see lots of proprietary options in both NZ and the USA for this sort of thing, but can't find anything in Australia. 

What is the best way of doing this? My thought was using heavy duty galvanised right angle brackets to bolt the rim joist to the main joists. They'd be placed either side of each balustrade post to reinforce the connection and keep everything in place. 

Very crude picture attached to show what I mean. Bracket would be one joist to the left with another on the other side of the post. Just drawn at that spot as it had a better angle to show what I wanted to do. 

Is there a better/standard way of doing this? 


V

[Michael80]

I forgot to mention, rim joist currently fixed with 100mm batten screws. 

[JacobZ]

Hi @Michael80,

Thank you for your question about reinforcing the attachment between joists and a rim ledger board on your deck.

The standard way of attaching joists to a rim joist is to use a joist hanger on every joist. They come in a variety of sizes to fit different joists and are fairly easy to retrofit. Unfortunately, in the location of the balustrade post, you will need to remove the post, install the hanger and then put the post back into place. This may require you to cut a small rebate, so the hanger and its fixings do not fowl the post and throw it out of plumb.

The joist hangers are fixed in place using Timber Connector Screws through the holes in the hanger into both the joist and the rim joist. Ideally, a screw is put in every hole available in the joist hanger.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[Michael80]

Thanks @JacobZ 

To confirm this isn't the rim ledger I'm asking about, it's the outer rim joist. The rim joist is cantilevered and only supported by it's connection to the joists. I'm not sure a joist hanger is the right choice as they are normally used to hang the joists from a supported member (e.g. the ledger)? I'm basically looking for the reverse connection where the outer rim joist is hanging from the joists.

[EricL]

Hello @Michael80 

Your proposal of using angle brackets is a sound idea. However, I suggest visiting your local council and having a look at the rules and regulations regarding the building protocols for balustrade installation. I suspect that there are requirements on how they are supposed to be mounted and what supports are to be applied to the rim joist.

Another option is to engage the services of a deck builder or a drafts person. They would be familiar with the rules for balustrade installation and what fittings to use. In this manner the balustrade will be installed to code and if inspected should pass council inspection.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric