Really High Deck

17 years ago

We are looking at a home that is for sale in our neighborhood to purchase. The floor plan is great. The only drawback we have is the fact that from the MAIN level of the home the deck is at least 20 ft off the ground.

The front is flat and the back is flat once you get there....

Anyone else out there have a really high deck and do you love it/hate it.

The view is great inside the house since you are in the trees. Outside looking up is quite intimadating! There is even a smaller 2nd deck off the basement door. It is off the ground too.

To put it is perspective....the basement level has what seems to be 20 ft cielings in the unfinished area.

We would definitely get it inspected...I'm wondering if I could get use to it though or what we could do to make it more "friendly".

Thanks!

Comments (5)

pressurepros
17 years ago
Also keep in mind that professional maintenance is going to be costly.
brickeyee
17 years ago
Find an engineer with wood structure experience.
If the local AHJ had any sense they already required a PE stamp on the plans before approval.
A lot of funny things start to happen to tall narrow supports, most involving buckling.
The attachment to the house should have been beefed up over normal to prevent sway.
At 20 feet you are up to 8x8 posts (for wood). Even a 20 ft 6x6 is going to have problems long term. Wet wood structural numbers are pretty degraded compared to dry use numbers.
I would not stamp off such a design unless it used steel posts. Wood can build tall and strong structures, but it relies on multiple redundant load paths to ensure safety and long term survival. A high deck with 4 posts (or even 2 posts and a ledger for support) does not have a lot of room for variation in the strength of the material. A single post failure will be a disaster.
Related Professionals
Braintree Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Diamond Bar Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Frederick Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · West Palm Beach Decks, Patios & Outdoor Enclosures · Troutdale Home Builders · Arlington Flooring Contractors · Boca Raton Flooring Contractors · Everett Flooring Contractors · Laguna Niguel Flooring Contractors · Napa Flooring Contractors · Tigard Flooring Contractors · Highlands Ranch Siding & Exteriors · Liberty Siding & Exteriors · Manassas Siding & Exteriors · Thornton Siding & Exteriors
plumorchard
Original Author
17 years ago
It has steel posts - not sure how many. I am going over again tonight...will try to get pix. Thanks to all!
plumorchard
Original Author
17 years ago
There is a screened porch and another porch. There were 7 poles all in concrete on a slab...not footings. They looked nailed in, not bolted. From far below, I could not see anything different about the way it was attached to the house - no extra enforcements. Took photos for fun but we've decided to stay put and build our own deck closer to earth!
brickeyee
17 years ago
"They looked nailed in, not bolted."

Not adequately secured. The slightest angle to anything wil cause the bottom of the columns to kick out.

"From far below, I could not see anything different about the way it was attached to the house - no extra enforcements."

If the ledger is supporting one side of the deck, bad news. Even with steel posts there is additional transverse load on the ledger from the flex. I typically double the bolt pattern and carefully ionspect waht the anchor in the house is. Additional fastening of joists to the rim joist is often required (protects against pull away), or strapping a joist if the ledger is attached to it (there is often not a lot holding the last joists in place for perpendicular loads from pull away by the deck).

Sopunds like you made a good choice. High decks are not an area to play around with. I investigate a few failures every year for insurance companies or injured parties.