Building a Deck - Framing

RenovateDSM — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 21:37:20 -0700

Rough Layout

You will actually have to lay out your deck twice. The first time is a "practice run" for digging out the footing holes. You want this preliminary layout to be accurate enough to place the corners of the deck within a couple inches of their final location. Mark the location of each post so you can dig the holes for the footings.

There are a variety of methods for performing this task: string and stakes and 2x4's are the most common. Each one has its pros and cons. With either method, the first activity is to locate where the ledger board will attach to your house. This will be the starting point from which you measure distances and angles to lay out the deck.

String and Stakes
With this method, you know that your lines will be straight (shortest distance between two points...) and you can start digging right away once the corners have been located. The major downsides are that distance and angles are harder to measure. First attach a string at one corner of the future ledger board. Stretch it out about two feet past the outside corner of the deck (at a right angle) and tie it to a stake. Do the same for the opposite corner. Stake out the outside edge of the deck in the same manner, overshooting each corner by about two feet. Overshooting the corners and using multiple lines will allow you to make finer adjustments to create right angles and even sides because you can pull up and relocate stakes individually. If your layout is square, the distance between opposite corners will be equal - check the opposite corners and each side to make sure they all match up as they should.

RenovateDSM.com - Building a Deck - Framing - Comments

Building a Deck - Framing

Rough Layout