Critical Connections to Ensure a Safe Deck

Is your deck letting you down? Cardinal Home Centers in Madison and Crozet are proud to carry Simpson Strong-Tie Fasteners, one of the premier brands in the industry with a variety of brackets and fasteners. These products are designed to ensure your deck is secure and meets building code requirements. Whether you are repairing an existing deck or building a new one, these connections are important for a safe and strong deck. Before you build, check out these critical connections to ensure a safe deck! Consult your local building codes before starting your project to assure you are in compliance – safety is everyone’s priority.

Signs of an Unsafe Deck

Before you get started, it is essential to recognize factors that might make your deck unsafe and where it is crucial to have strong connections. Whether you are building a new deck with pressure-treated lumber or repairing an existing deck, you want to make sure you replace any missing connectors and structural screws and tighten any loose or wobbly connections. Also, check for corroded and rusty connectors and any rotting or cracking in the wood. As far as connections, the ledger attachment, which connects the house to the deck, is one of the most common failure points to a poorly built deck.

Critical Connections for Your Deck

Joist-to-Ledger

Underneath the deck, you will terminate a beam or a ledger, and a connection is needed to provide bearing and resist uplift. This ledger cannot be installed over siding or stucco: it must be fastened directly to the rim board through the sheathing. Cardinal Home Center offers the HUS or LUS joist hangers with double-shear nailing for added strength and HUC or LUC concealed flange joist hangers for a cleaner look and end conditions.

Guardrail post-to-deck framing

Deck tension ties meet or exceed code requirements for decks and can be used as a tension tie to meet the lateral load connection to the house at four locations. These are used to attach deck-railing posts to the deck framing. The connection is stronger than a typical screw because the post is tied back into the deck joist. The galvanized finish also offers corrosion resistance. We sell DTT2Z tension ties and SDWS timber screws to attach them.

Deck joists to home’s framing

If an adjacent structure will partially support your deck, the connection between that structure and your deck is crucial. For these connections, use Strong Drive SDWS or Timber Screws (see more about fastener options below).

Joist-to-beam

There are two critical joist-to-beam connections to be aware of: joists that terminate into a beam or ledger and joists bearing on a ledger. A connection must provide bearing and resist uplift for any connection where the joist terminates into a ledger. Building codes require the ends of each joist or beam to have at least 1-½” of bearing on wood or metal. HUS/LUS joist hangers, concealed flange joist hangers, and Outdoor Accents Light/Heavy Joist Hangers provide these connections, with some offered in ZMAX coating. When the joist is bearing on a beam, connections must resist uplift and lateral displacement, and blocking or framing is required to prevent overturning of the joists. Simpson offers Twist Straps and Hurricane Ties for bolting joists on both sides and for single-sided applications.

Beam-to-post

Where the beam of a deck meets the post, it must be properly connected to the post to resist gravity, lateral and uplift loads. Simpson offers a variety of post caps, deck joist ties, and concealed beam ties designed to secure these connections.

Post-to-concrete

For deck structures, concrete footings should be used to resist various types of loads properly. Wood posts need to be properly attached using a porch-post base, post base with standoff, movement post base, or column base. These solutions feature a 1” standoff and are cast into the concrete when it is poured. In-store, you should look for ABAZ, ABWZ, RPBZ, or PBSZ post bases, or CBSQ column bases, depending on concrete.

Deck Fasteners

One of the benefits of Simpson is they also manufacture specific screws for their products. These products feature a greater shear strength Their SD Connector screws can replace nails in certain Simpson connectors and are easier to install. They feature galvanized coating and are available in both Madison and Crozet. There are also a few options that each store carries independently: Crozet carries SDS Heavy-Duty connectors for heavier loads and SCN Smooth Shank nails. Additionally, Madison carries SDW TRUSS-PLY and SDWS TIMBER Screws; TRUSS-PLy can be used for multi-ply members such as joining plated trusses and solid sawn screws, and SDWS TIMBER screws are used for mass-timber, CLT assemblies, and log-home construction.

You can also check out safestronghome.com/deck to see more of the fasteners and hardware Simpson recommends. Our stores also have a copy of Simpson’s Connection and Fastening Guide, offering many details and graphics to help ensure your deck is secure, as well as building code references to assist in your deck design and build. Also, if there is something that we do not have in stock, we can usually special order it and have it at our store in a couple of days!