Second floor deck

Hi all

I need to replace the deck on my house. It is on the second floor. Dimensions are 7800 x 1575 (ie long and narrow). The boards were laid with a single gal nail per joist - luckily they added a couple of brads to guarantee that the nail heads poke up and catch your foot. The main problem, however, is that the joists and bearers are all decayed making it feel as if your walking on a ship. Seriously scary stuff.

The catch is that is is cantilevered over the garage. It is supported by the structural steel from the house - dirty big 'I" beams. The beams seem more than capable of carrying the weight.

I'd appreciate your advice on how to best attach the joists/bearers to the I beams. I've attached a sketch of the current means, which Ihave to admit worries me greatly. But perhaps it is the legit way to do it.

My idea would be to get some brackets made up and bolt them to the ends of the I beam and then into the bearer. There is no height available to sit the bearers/joists on top of the beam.

Anyone have any other ideas or comments on this plan?

Thanks

Trav

Hey Trav,

How about steel bearers and joists. The new smorgon Lite Steel Beams look good and you can nail and screw into them or use brackets to connect them. Other option is to use treated pine, use one length as a ledger and another as a facing joist (acting as a bearer with the joists face mounted with joist hangers)

Cheers
Pulse