Mounting a ledger for landing/low deck

[Azz82]

EDITED 

Morning all

I'm after some advice for mounting a ledger. It's an old hardwood house and doesn't appear to have any rim joists. 

The beams are 120x75 and joists are 120x50. There are 75x50 studs in between each joist. For height reasons I want to use a 190x45 ledger. How best to attach this? Can it just be attached to the beam? Can it be attached to the beam and studs? Or should I add some blocking between the joists to allow attachment up higher?

The other option is to sink posts 300mm off the house and allow a cantilever. This would also negate the need for any waterproofing. I've attached a very dodgy hand drawing just for a visual.

Cheers

Aaron

 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Azz82. It's great to have you join us and many thanks for your question.

In the absence of a rim joist for the deck's ledger to attach to, it's important to figure out what the screws are going into. Whether the ledger board is attached to the beam or blocks that are added, the beam is still supporting the weight. I'd personally prefer to attach to the beam than the blocks, as the blocks are adding an additional possible failure point.

Posts are always going to be a more secure option and many will prefer them instead of attaching where no rim joist is present.

Let me mention a couple of knowledgable members @Adam_W and @ProjectPete to see if they have any advice on attaching a ledger with no rim joist.

Mitchell

[Azz82]

Thanks Mitchell.

The more I look at it, the more I'm leaning towards the posts but it's always good to have other feedback. 

Cheers

[Adam_W]

Hi @Azz82 Aaron, funny thing... you have two options. One is straightforward, will be reasonably simple and will work very well (the new posts).
The other involves finding ways to improvise to hopefully find a solution which should work (the ledger plate...)
I know which one I'd be going for.
If you can't easily get a solid fix-off for that ledger it's always going to be a bit iffy.

You need to also remember that as soon as you use a ledger plate in that way you are transferring load and are increasing the loading onto your existing piers, bearers & joists creating a possibility of sagging or bending is they are already close to their maximum loading. If you get my drift.

[Azz82]

Thanks mate. Went for the post option in the end.

 

[MitchellMc]

@Azz82

That looks fabulous! 

Many thanks for sharing your update with the community. Are you adding more to the deck? I trust our community members would be interested in following along with the rest of your build if you'd like to share.

Well done.

Mitchell

[Azz82]

Yes mate. The section to the left will be getting done the same height as the low step (which is why I didn't frame that part fully). I've had to excavate a lot of dirt by hand and replace the mains water pipe but will getting on with it soon (pic of the full area pre front landing)

 

[Adam_W]

Nice work @Azz82 !!!

[Azz82]

Thanks mate. It's been a bit of work. The front of the house changes direction and coupled with my poor stringline abilities (lol) means there's had to be a fair bit of compromise. 

My skills lie in the mechanical realm so it's been a big learning curve but it's as rewarding as it is frustrating sometimes. There's something to be said for over engineering things.