Building an Awesome Covered Deck - (Part 1: Footings & Framing)

[@devonteforeman]

Not bad. I prefer pouring my footings slightly above the soil so my support posts aren't in contact with the ground. It slows the inevitable rot and makes it easier to replace individual posts.

[@sku32956]

exactly that is the weak link

[@samu3813]

Lots of cost in cement and labor. But you are right, this is always the weakest point for a raised deck.

[@signmeupruss]

Love to see such good workmanship. Thanks for sharing this. It's great to see such a high level of craftsmanship that I feel happy for your customer.

[@thebedfords]

Thank you very much!

[@kenlane6655]

Less talk, more show! Don't fall into the trap of thinking you're an entertainer. You...builder...BUILD!! hehe. ;)

[@thatsnotabradidea]

Great video, enjoy watching the work as well as the fantastic production values. Drone work, if I'm not mistaken! Thanks.

[@thebedfords]

Thanks so much! Yes, it is indeed a drone. I actually bought it right when we started this job, and used it quite a bit. Super fun toy/tool to have around :)

[@weekendhomeprojects]

Is it better to use wood to concrete brackets instead of burring the posts in the concrete? Won't they rot eventually?

[@thebedfords]

We never actually set our deck posts in the concrete. We either place a cement block or pour a concrete footing (depends on what is required by the plans), and then set our posts on top of the concrete. I have been seeing a lot of people asking about that, and frankly I think it’s a lot smaller issue that most people think it is. Earlier this year during another deck project, we had to excavate near some of the existing posts, and not only were the 15 year old posts that were three feet deep in the ground perfectly fine, but we also discovered some 2x scrap that got buried in the hole from the original deck, and it was still rock solid. Hadn’t rotted away at all.

[@erinbeltran1820]

My deck posts are burried in cement under ground here in Texas and they still stand strong. I redid the deck and used the same posts because they were so sturdy. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@davidsaviano9012]

Great video. One comment ... the Quikrete yellow bag is preferable for footings, as opposed to the red bag, which sets faster.

[@givememorepizza4358]

Kool video brother.

[@DadJuniorVideos]

I couldn't imagine having to get a go ahead from someone to do something on my own property.

[@thebedfords]

Are you referring to having things inspected by a building inspector?

[@donethat8761]

😉👍

[@donethat8761]

@@thebedfords No. He was referring to something else. Great video though...

[@amcdrywallllc6808]

I will try to do something like this, follow your steps

[@wellnix53]

Good video but could be made much better with more detailed shots of toe-nailing joists to the house header, insertion of support posts with sizes noted and quality treated specs, etc. These are all things that can be jotted down on notepad while watching to help do-it-yourselfers succeed. This will help you with future videos and also to boost your subscriber numbers.

[@Eli107682]

Agree 💯

[@j.hernandez983]

"I'd thought we'd be farther but it's cool." Almost every job I do lol. I'm solo and have part time help. Fence building and power washing. Really awesome build here. When you have to pull a permit do you have a new drawing made evey time? Or is that something the customer handles?

[@thebedfords]

Thanks very much. Sometimes you just gotta focus on what you got done, instead of of what you didn’t. It’s something I’m often guilty of, starting the day with a picture of how much I think we will have done by the end of the day. More often than not, we don’t make it that far, but I’m far more concerned with the quality of our craft than rushing through it. Regarding permits, as we are a GC, we generally pull our own permits. Always draw up plans specific to that job.

[@romleyhardy5691]

If you can, please make updates easy to find. It’d be awesome to follow along.

[@thebedfords]

If you go to the 'Work Renovations' playlist on my channel, the rest of the videos are in there!

[@rhodiafiddler5557]

I wish you had showed more step by step how you did this

[@thebedfords]

Thanks for your feedback. My goal wasn’t really a “how to build a deck” video. More just showing what we do, and explaining things here and there. Mostly because this is my personal channel, and I don’t get paid to make videos, so I tried to either film when I was off the clock, or keep it quick if I was on the clock.

[@ckmbo720courtyardliving3]

Great content. Starting this series. New subscriber 💪😎

[@thebedfords]

Thanks very much. I appreciate that.

[@vincerobertson1214]

We're the post holes eventually topped off with soil or rock after you poured them to spec?

[@thebedfords]

Yep, we backfilled with dirt.

[@Stevehrp]

Putting 4x4s into the ground and not on top of a concrete pillar is against building code in NY. They will definitely rot.

[@edwardfaris8516]

Who cares..😑

[@phillipm3799]

Even if it’s covered wont see water?

[@K.E.D.Landscaping]

If it’s pressure treated, like it should be, and inside of concrete it will work fine

[@jamesrichard7251]

@@K.E.D.Landscapingyeah it really won’t be lol has to be on concrete.

[@Shad0wC0mpany2]

🍿

[@sku32956]

Few sticks of rebar would be smart ,the size of the deck just spend a few dollars more, why bury the wood do it with anchor bolts .

[@thebedfords]

It’s just how we are used to building. Doesn’t mean we don’t have room to improve.

[@nc_general4140]

Anchor bolts would have been faster but that doesn't mean that they've done it wrong I guess it boils down to that's just their chosen method

[@zachgilbert1141]

Hi I'm building my own deck for the first time, there is some blocking between joists on this deck, is that because you do that between where ledgers end?

[@thebedfords]

I don’t totally understand your question, but if you are talking about the blocking in the end of this video, it is for the way we do our decking, which is in a later video.

[@Beamin-vt7jm]

I thought you aren’t supposed to cement the beams directly into the ground. Don’t you have to bolt the beams with brackets on top of the cured cement footings?

[@thebedfords]

None of the posts are cemented into the ground. The concrete footings were poured, and then the beams placed on top. At least around here, and for the size decks we’ve built, we’ve never been required to physically connect our posts to our footings.

[@alejandrogallardo8301]

Just a question. I gotten a quote for a 13ft long 36ft wide for 12k thinking is a little expensive or not?

[@thebedfords]

Not much to go off of, but no, that doesn’t sound like too much to me.

[@DustyBootsWoodcraft]

It doesn’t appear that any additional structure was added to accommodate the weight of the fireplace…did you add additional support for the fireplace?

[@thebedfords]

If you look at 7:55, you’ll see that we doubled up the first several joists, and one of the posts for the middle girder is directly under where the fireplace will be.

[@DustyBootsWoodcraft]

@@thebedfords great thank you! Thank you for you let quick reply, meeting with the city this week. Loved the series by the way. I’m designing a deck and my 11 year old daughter wants a fireplace! Not much information out there on that topic.

[@DustyBootsWoodcraft]

@@thebedfords may I ask another question…I noticed you didn’t use a post to beam connector, is that specifically to allow for the additional posts to be set for the roof? If so, I assume the footings had to be designed to support the weight of the deck and the roof?

[@thebedfords]

@@DustyBootsWoodcraft I’m not sure exactly which spot you are referring to, but we absolutely used proper fastening techniques in all places. I probably didn’t show every single one in the video. Either thrubolts or metal connecting brackets attaching beams to posts. And yes, the footings were sized for the weight of the entire assembly, including the fireplace.

[@thebedfords]

@@DustyBootsWoodcraft I’m not sure exactly which spot you are referring to, but we absolutely used proper fastening techniques in all places. I probably didn’t show every single one in the video. Either thrubolts or metal connecting brackets attaching beams to posts. And yes, the footings were sized for the weight of the entire assembly, including the fireplace.

[@joshleiva5134]

2 Questions, what happens if your footers are undersized for a covered porch? Also, why do some deck builders put a footer post by the house and others don't? My deck is just attached to the ledger and then has a beam 12 feet out. A different deck builder will have that same beam but also will have 2 post right next to the house all the way down to the foundation. I'm sure it has something to do with loads.

[@thebedfords]

I imagine you would just see problems with settling or other failures. It probably is mostly to do with the load ratings, what the footings are, etc. There is also just more than one way to build a deck the right way, so it could be that also.

[@josiahtubo]

Load most likely, 2x4 walls have already loaded as a load bearing wall. Post are required for structural support. On your question I realize that i don’t need load support post, since my back walls of my modular home i framed with 2x6 studs and is resting on cinder blocks wall foundation.

[@jpr0729]

the closest footings to the house are there to account for the cantilever part sticking out? any differences with the way the ledger was installed on that part?

[@thebedfords]

That’s correct. No, we attached the ledger any differently. We still flashed the house framing the same as the rest of it, and bolted it to the house with FastenMaster LedgerLoks, even though it’s not carrying any real load.

[@jasonkeller5732]

Did you have to attach your ledger to the brick, if so what fastener did you use?

[@thebedfords]

Nope, it attached to the house band board. The bottom of the deck ledger overlapped the first course of brick by about an inch if I recall correctly. We always use FastenMaster LedgerLoks to bolt our ledgers to any other framing. I think we’ve used RedHead sleeve anchors to bolt a ledger to brick, but it’s been awhile, so I’m not sure exactly which type of fastener we used. I’m pretty sure they were RedHead though.

[@bluray1522]

is part 2 and so on up yet?

[@thebedfords]

Yes sir. The whole series was uploaded last year.

[@bluray1522]

@@thebedfords ok where do i see them?

[@bluray1522]

@@thebedfords nevermind.... its under work vids! found them

[@thebedfords]

@@bluray1522 sure is. There's a few other projects in there as well.

[@Dedicateddad4ever]

I’m my area of the country code would never allow you to dig and pour around what appears to be a pvc water line in your video. Did you really put concrete around that pipe in your footing?

[@thebedfords]

They are sprinkler lines. No, we didn’t encase them in concrete. We did have to reroute a few of them a little bit, because our footings had to be there. PVC pipe can be moved.

[@amcdrywallllc6808]

Buen trabajo 👍

[@agustintrejosanches6899]

Mis respetos para usted todo pa delante

[@thebedfords]

Muchas gracias

[@darrellperry3352]

Looks great! I may have missed it but what size beams did you use for the girders and floor joists?

[@thebedfords]

Girders are 2x10’s. Floor joists are 2x8’s.

[@NickAllgood]

@@thebedfords thanks for the measurements mate.

[@shepherdhelpandrescueeffor8833]

Is there any reason why the posts could not be attached directly to the slab with brackets?

[@thebedfords]

It’s a building code issue. Not only is a standard concrete slab (usually about 4” in depth) not designed to take the point load of a structure being built on top of it, but you also are required to have the footings below the frost line. For us here in VA, that is about 18”, so that is the absolute minimum we dig them to.

[@shepherdhelpandrescueeffor8833]

@@thebedfords OK, that makes complete sense. I understand now.

[@strokerace4765]

Can’t believe someone did the footings right, most people attach bracket to three inch concrete slab.

[@thebedfords]

I don’t think I’ve seen that yet. The more common thing in our area is when we tear out a deck, we find the stairs are either just sitting on the ground, or on a cinder block that’s barely buried.

[@strokerace4765]

You will if you pay attention long enough.

[@will201084]

@@thebedfords I have an old, elevated deck and one post uses the old concrete stairs as a landing pad :/ let's just say I am learning how to tear it all down and rebuilding it.

[@Methodical2]

@4:12. What was that PVC pipe for?

[@thebedfords]

Irrigation lines. Part of their sprinkler system

[@coachstephb6791]

What’s the dimensions of the deck and roof for this project

[@thebedfords]

The main area is 20x25, with a smaller 4x11 area going over to the stairs.

[@Indus2020]

What size are your joists !?

[@thebedfords]

2x8

[@paynfulmakers8405]

How far apart do you need to put the footings?

[@thebedfords]

It’s all dictated by what size material is being used, how far it is spanning, and so on. Most of these footings were about 6 feet apart.

[@jgeisler]

What size was the auger?

[@thebedfords]

It’s a 12” auger. And we actually bought one not too long after we finished this job.

[@jgeisler]

Thanks. That's the larges size my local rental place has without renting heavy equipment. My holes need to be about the same size you made.

[@thebedfords]

@@jgeisler I think it’s the same for us. Our holes usually need to be about 18” square, but when you remove a 12” circle, squaring it up to 18” is pretty easy, all things considered.

[@DailyBrusher]

This would be really helpful if you showed how you located the holes for the piers and posts.

[@thebedfords]

So it’s just a pretty simple matter of following the building code span charts, which is basically the rule book for how far apart support posts can be, depending on how far the beams and joists are spanning. We draw up the plans that should meet the building code requirements based on all of those conditions and then it gets approved by the local building department, or they note changes we need to make and we make them.

[@KennethHazell]

Pretty much

[@paulanthonydean2]

5 year deck due to the post directly in the concrete moisture absorbing into the end of the post..

[@thebedfords]

We demo decks all the time that are decades old and still have solid posts. Those posts are rated for ground contact. I have zero doubt that this deck will last for decades.

[@kr5289]

I've had post in concrete for probably 30 yrs. and still solid as day I installed them.

[@pmaint1]

​@@kr5289 But the P.T today sucks and will not last. No P.T is meant to come in contact with ground that I'm aware of.

[@rf4215]

6x6 posts?

[@thebedfords]

Yes indeed

[@Redfiregtag]

People got to stop putting posts in the ground. It's not that hard to pour a footer and Pier and set a post base

[@pacodefrancis7235]

man you guys and these building inspectors. Can't even do a DIY concrete pour before he's on site. that just seems bizarre.

[@thebedfords]

It’s a hassle sometimes, but the building code is there for a reason. Even if some things are common sense to us, they might not be for someone else who thinks they know how to build whatever they might be building.

[@pacodefrancis7235]

@@thebedfords code enforcement is a total waste and unnecessary. If the homeowner doesn’t have good judgement that’s his fault.

[@thebedfords]

It’s as much for homeowners trying to do their own project, as for contractors who either don’t know, or are trying to cut corners.