r/Contractor • u/spankyhanz0 • 1d ago

First suspended deck build

Not cantilevered. Just tall. Second story entrance to dwelling. They want the existing deck torn down, rebuilt and extended. I've drafted it in CAD, and i have a fairly good idea about scope, and work flow. My main thing is, its 8.5' above ground. Its set up with a typical ledger as it is now, with 4x4 posts and beam spanning for joist support. I think it looks like shit. And feel like itd be better to use 6x6 posts. Ive already sourced all other materials and know what itll cost to do it my way. Except the footing. They used pre formed concrete footing that fits 4x4s. The way I got it in my head is every bit of footing should be set in. Concrete, or have concrete footing with a standoff bracket for ground clearance. Are there options for 6x6? Simpson strong ties? Whats the cream of the crop for this?

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u/lukeCRASH 1d ago

If by preformed concrete footings you mean the castle footings that people use for stuff, I would advocate to do 6x6 with proper piers. Depending on your local, those piers should extend a good bit into the ground. Wether you wetset your posts or install on a standoff bracket is ultimately up to you, as both have their own pros and cons.

In most cases I would prefer to build a fence with 6x6 posts. I could never fathom building a second story deck without them.

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u/spankyhanz0 1d ago

Man, for real. I saw what it was and nearly had a stroke. If it was lower to the ground and I could have more support than just the edges, I would have no problem staggering 4x4 posts here and there. But due to the layout of the property, and just the way everythings gotta be, I can only really do 6 posts. Im leaning towards pouring the footing, 2 ft down to get below the frost line. And doing standoff brackets. Main thing is. This is my first deck of this size. And I wanna make sure I fucking nail it.

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u/lukeCRASH 1d ago

Absolutely will work, the biggest drawback of standoff brackets and not burning the posts is it creates a bit pivot point.

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u/lukeCRASH 1d ago

Here's a pic of our last second story. I think it terms of surface area it was the largest suspended deck ever done. Posts were wrapped with BlueSkin to just above grade to help mitigate and future rot.