When it comes to installing a greenhouse, one very important consideration is creating a level and sturdy foundation for the greenhouse to sit on. © 2014-2020 Advantage Design & Constr., Inc.Share on Pinterest Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Email Share on RedditĪre you planning to add a greenhouse to your property? If so, congratulations on that awesome decision! We have had our hobby greenhouse for about 4 years now, and our only regret is that we didn’t get a larger one. For a free design consultation and a relaxed and rewarding experience, contact us via e-mail, by phone, 78. To learn how we treat our clients, check our ratings on Angie’s List or read about us in an article in Remodeling magazine. To view some of these projects, visit our website. We have enhanced the depth of our expertise by limiting our work to decks, porches, sunrooms, and patios. Over the past 27 years we have designed and built over 1,000 projects. We at Archadeck of Suburban Boston offer professional design and build services for clients west and north of Boston. Literature has too long touted male pronouns. But I have written in detail about bracing freestanding decks in The Journal of Light Construction, the widely respected construction magazine.įor a thorough explanation of Post and Beam construction, see my article, What is Post and Beam and Why would your Deck Care?įor an explanation of other deck terms, see my earlier blog article, Can’t Understand Your Deck Contractor?. The type, location, and attachment of those braces is complex indeed, they are beyond my scope here. It needs bracing, especially if it is high off the ground. Without any solid attachment a house, your deck will sway and wobble. But you’ve not addressed lateral and horizontal stability. You’ve supported the deck load vertically - it will not collapse under the weight of people and furniture. They will not transfer significant weight to your house. Even include a few screws to “attach” the deck to your house, if you want. So, add another beam and more columns and footings. Houses with wood I-joists or only studs at deck level can be enhanced to bear the weight of a deck, but these “structural enhancements” often prove impractical, too expensive, or too difficult to verify. Even hollow concrete presents fastening challenges. For example, the cantilevered (“overhanging”) side of a house will not properly support a deck.Īnd consider a fieldstone foundation: there is no practical way to attach a deck to irregular fieldstone.īrick veneer walls also lack the lateral strength to support a deck. According to the International Residential Code², adopted by most states, a deck does not need a building permit if it is “less than 200 square feet, under 30” off the ground, does not serve a required exit door, and is not attached to the dwelling“ - if it is freestanding.Ī more common reason: deck builders freestand a deck when the house structure or materials do not allow solid attachment. Indeed, why would someone want her ¹ deck freestanding? That extra structure, especially the extra columns and footings, adds cost.īuilding Codes offer one reason. Here’s a normal deck, seemingly attached to its house:īut look below that deck, and you can see its additional structure. Add another beam and columns near the house, and the deck puts no weight on the house. unless the deck is self-supporting (freestanding). Structurally, the house supports half the weight of the deck (including its furniture and people), and the beam and columns at the end support the other half: It does not use the adjacent house for support. What makes a deck truly freestanding is that it is self-supporting. They seem to be attached to the house, and they may be attached superficially. Just what is a “freestanding” deck? Some freestanding decks are obvious – they are standing alone in the yard.īut many freestanding decks do not stand alone but are indeed right next to a house.
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