Free standing porch/deck

[grover]

I have been mulling over the different ways to flash a ledger board and I think I have it figured out but what about this instead?

What if I don't connect the porch to the house at all.  Just do that side of the porch as I would a freestanding deck.  It truly is a porch because it is covered and the covering is of course attached to the house going from a 12/12 pitch to a 4/12 pitch I think.  The outside portion of the porch will be connected to 4-6x6's which support the roof over the porch.  Will not connecting to the house create additional issues I have not thought of?  Will it look strange?

[akwoodchuck]

I would definitely fasten the ledger to the house.....anything else will be a huge pain, believe me.  If your porch is covered, you probably don't to worry about flashing too much....

[Redoverfarm]

I have been mulling over the different ways to flash a ledger board and I think I have it figured out but what about this instead?

What if I don't connect the porch to the house at all.  Just do that side of the porch as I would a freestanding deck.  It truly is a porch because it is covered and the covering is of course attached to the house going from a 12/12 pitch to a 4/12 pitch I think.  The outside portion of the porch will be connected to 4-6x6's which support the roof over the porch.  Will not connecting to the house create additional issues I have not thought of?  Will it look strange?

If it is done correctly you will not be able to tell the difference appearence wise.  The decking(floor) will extend toward the house to cover the underlying supports. The only problem is attaching the rim joist on the house side of the deck but that is easily overcome with a little planning. 

With it properly flashed as earlier stated even attached deck should be OK if it is covered. 

[Don_P]

It is always better to support the ledger on posts that are on footings at the level of the house footings... or on them, rather than hanging the ledger on bolts. But I still bolt the ledger to the house for lateral strength.

[MountainDon]

belt and suspenders approach   

As an aside:  most deck failures are at the ledger to the house. That gives way and everything tips and slides against the house wall. So I like the B & S approach.

[grover]

So, there are mixed feelings about this. 

AK...Can you be a little more specific on the "huge pain"?  I was thinking less intrusion into the siding the better.  There should not be an issue with water under the porch roof but the ends of the ledger will definitely see rain and a possible entry point for moisture.

[Redoverfarm]

So, there are mixed feelings about this. 

AK...Can you be a little more specific on the "huge pain"?  I was thinking less intrusion into the siding the better.  There should not be an issue with water under the porch roof but the ends of the ledger will definitely see rain and a possible entry point for moisture.

Grover you have to remember that your rim joist should/would be nailed to both ends of the ledger therefore there should not be any exposure.  The remaining floor joist (inside) will be hung from the ledger by hangers (at least on the house side) as well.  At least that is how I would do it.  The rim joist has to complete your deck framing to allow your decking to be nailed on the outside edges. The decking will overhang that Rim Joist.  If you are working with 6X6 then I would do a double rim.  One to the inside and one to the outside of the 6X6.  The outside rims will be 3" longer than the inside joist just to complete that frame. If you are using the 6X6 to support both the deck and the roof then extra bracing should be made at that point from joist to joist to secure the 6X6.  If not then you should block brace at the location of the porch support post. 

[akwoodchuck]

So, there are mixed feelings about this. 

AK...Can you be a little more specific on the "huge pain"?  I was thinking less intrusion into the siding the better.  There should not be an issue with water under the porch roof but the ends of the ledger will definitely see rain and a possible entry point for moisture.

Well, I guess it depends on your definition, but to me "huge pain" means anything that complicates what should be a simple job  lol..... in my neck of the woods it's mostly deck joists hangered from a ledger bolted to the house. I've repaired quite a few decks, and on almost all of them, the overriding issues were frost heave on the posts, and deterioration of untreated lumber. Water trapped between a ledger and wall can cause problems, though....I believe I've seen some kind of stand-off brackets that hold the ledger away from the house; anyone have experience with those?

[MountainDon]

Just out of curiosity what is the ledger going to be fastened to?  How thick?  With what? 

[grover]

Here is one of the stand-offs I found.  http://screw-products.com/deck2wallspacer.htm

Don, the ledger board would be bolted to the rim band board, which I think is a 2 x 12, with 1/2 inch diameter galvanized bolts. 

I guess I should take the ledger right up to the corner trim as the porch is the full length of the cabin....Or should I just take the corner trim down to the deck and the deck all  the way to the corner?

[MountainDon]

I used some hot dipped galvy washers as spacers.

Bolts are better then lag screws for sure. Washers under bolt head and the nut of course. Do not overtighten; do not crush the wood fibers.

By code these days a  "hold-down tension device" must be used in at least 2 places.  Simpson's DTT2Z Deck Tension Tie meets the requirements.   http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/qa/new-code-requirements-for-decks.aspx

[Don_P]

Think about the roof tie in as well, when on the eave side I like the look when the porch roof is ~2' shorter than the main roof. You had mentioned tieing into a gable end porch to help stiffen the wall. If so then it  probably needs to go out to the end and figure out the hip framing. It can be done later but it sure is easier to do at the framing stage when everything is already visible. Also think about holding the posts down, the wind can exert a healthy uplift under an open porch roof. I haven't checked in several weeks Don but I believe the lateral connector is going to go away in the '15 cycle... doesn't mean it is a bad idea. The nadra (north american deck and railing ass'n) blog has been keeping up with those changes.

[Redoverfarm]

I used some hot dipped galvy washers as spacers.

MD seems the decking spacer of choice here is PVC lumber blocks.  Using a 1X4X(?) gives a more solid support over the entire width of the ledger.  It is not that expensive and even a 8' board cut into 8-10" lengths gives an amble number of spacers(minus kerf).  They can be cut or drilled the same as convientional lumber. 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_238343-44211-2826_4294815781__?productId=50092302&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

[Don_P]

As you space a deck out remember that hanging connection becomes worse and worse. The posts under the ledger begin to look better to offset that increasingly weak connection.

[MountainDon]

As you space a deck out remember that hanging connection becomes worse and worse. The posts under the ledger begin to look better to offset that increasingly weak connection.

Similar to when applying exterior foam insulation with vertical furring strips over the foam. The thicker the foam, the more fasteners you need per furring strip to handle the weight of the siding that will be applied.

[Don_P]

yup, "Best" is often a matter of balancing the tradeoffs  .

[zion-diy]

I built a free standing non attached porch to the front of a mobile home I had. Sunk four 6x6 in concrete and went to town. Worked for me.

https://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af36/zion-dyi/bus/bl002_zps02df6827.jpg

[Adam Roby]

We also built a porch on a mobile home, and since both the deck and mobile home would heave differently we decided to attach just with big hooks.  So the house only have a few screw holes to keep everything aligned, but allowed for movement between the two buildings.  Probably not the best approach but worked fine for us.