This deck will be 10' deep and 50' wide and will be freestanding. I want the decking to run perpendicular to the house so of course my joists will be parallel. I will have 6 built up beams running perpendicular made of 2x10x10 and these beams will rest on top of support posts attached to concrete piers. I can't decide whether to put the floor joists on top of them beams as a drop beam or whether to hang them from the sides of beam flush. The beams will be bolted together with 1/2" hot dipped galvanized carriage bolts. If I put them on top I will use hurricane ties and if flush I of course will use joist hangers. I wanted to set my support posts in 1' from each edge but if I do this, it will give me a 1 ft joist on each end if I choose to go off side of beams. Is this ok? Also, without a ledger board I'm not sure how to start framing with such a long deck. I built a deck 15 years ago but it wasn't cantilevered so everything was different. Any guidance, tips or advice is appreciated.
If you hang your joists off the beam, be sure the layout for posts/beams is exact....otherwise, it gets pretty frustrating trying to make the top come out square. I prefer joists resting on beams, especially with built-up beams. Run solid blocking between the joists over each beam, and midspan between....don't just rely on rims for rollstop.