Make More Money Building Decks: Framing (Part 2) Phase Two Framing: Filling in the frame (Second of four parts)

By Mark Clement In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the production builders' "secret" of saving time—as much as a day—by building a deck from the top down, skipping the step of laying out all that string and all those stakes. I covered getting the ledgers and the joists up—now it's time to start filling in the frame. Beam & Post A cantilever beam is the secret to this system. It enables you to frame the sundeck without poured footings. A double 2 by 10 is code where I build. If the beam must be spliced, center the splices over a 6 by 6 post. Posts are called for at 6-foot centers, starting 24 inches in from the left and right sides. Photo 12 Beam The beam length is 3 inches longer than the ledger—the same as the overall deck width. Clipping 45s off the bottom refines the look. An inside radius or scroll detail cut with a jigsaw is primo, too. Hoist the beam tight to the bottoms of each band joist. Get it flush to the front edge of the temporary 2 by 4. Sink 3-nails through the temporary 2-by into the end of the beam (photo 12). Note: If you're working alone, this is a lot of weight to hold, but some fancy foot work with bar clamps like Irwin Quick Grips can take some sting out of needing three hands. When I lift a beam alone, I cut the corner detail as a semi-circle. I then use bar clamps to hook the top edge of the circle cut-out with one jaw and the top of the band joist with the other. Next, I squeeze the beam tight to the joists. It can be a circus, but it's doable. Photo 11 Photo 13 Posts Now use the beam to lay out post locations. Use a level or plumb bob to locate them. Without a front band on the deck, there's usually ample working room for shovels, a power auger or one of my favorite deck-building tools, a Skidster, which I'll rent with an auger and/or bucket or forks for large projects. For hand digging, it's easier to dig square holes than round (photo 11). I use a garden edger, shovel and digging bar to dig square holes (18" by 18" by code depth). I dig them wider than required, too. It creates wiggle room in the holes so I can get the post dead plumb. However, sometime the beam can be an obstruction, as on patio decks. If that's likely to be the case, pull string between the temporary posts and mark your holes. Dig first, then install the beam. Next, use a circular saw and reciprocating saw to cut a 3" by 9" shoulder at the top of each post (photo 13). Measure for post length. Measure from the beam-bottom into the holes' bottoms. On the post, pull your tape from the shoulder cut to the bottom of the post; subtract an inch. If you use Sonotubes, figure out the tube's finish height (including post anchor); cut post accordingly. Photo 16 Photo 14 Bridging The next big key to this system is bridging the post holes. For each hole, use two pieces of 2-by, each at least 3 feet long. Place each post in a hole. Lift it up to the beam with the long side of the notch. Drive four toe-nails through the post into the beam. Next, clamp it in place. (A helper is a good idea here. You can do it alone, but the circus of ingenuity and bar clamps is back in town.) Plumb all four faces of the post, then place the bridging blocks across the holes and nail them to the posts (photo 16). Before nailing the bridging, smash it with your hammer to compress the ground, especially if the ground is wet. The next step is to drill two 5/8-inch holes for 1/2-inch by 8-inch hot-dipped galvanized carriage bolts. Set them snug, but not tight (photo 14). Double check the posts for plumb. Tighten until the bolt head crunches the face of the 2-by-10 beam. Joists and Footings Now it's time to lay the beam out for joists. Pull from the end of the beam in the same direction from which you laid out the ledger (photo 17). (Note: If you hadn't trimmed 1 to 1-1/2 inches off each end of the ledger, your layout would be off at this stage.) Next, nail joist hangers on joist ends. Then, one at a time, ride them over the beam and nail them on layout to the ledger (photo 18). Secure the joists by toe-nailing each side of each joist into the beam (photo 19). It's important to note that you don't cut any joists (other than the left and right band joists already cut to length) before installing them. Photo 17 Photo 18 Photo 19 It's much easier and more accurate to gang cut joists to their finished length after they're set on the beam. Snap a line from the end of each band joist on the tops of the new joists (photo 20). Mark a line using a speed square down from the chalk line (photo 21), then cut each joist (photo 22). A worm drive saw works great here. Photo 20 Photo 21 Photo 22 Photo 24 Finally, face-nail the front band on the joists (photo 24). (Note: Like the beam, the front band on a low deck may restrict access to the holes. Leave it off until the concrete is poured, cured and holes backfilled. Photo 23 Good to Go Now the frame is up and you're ready to install decking. More importantly, you're ready to call in the footing inspection. Many building departments require at least 24 hours notice before sending an inspector, so framing like this lets me get started and be reasonably certain that footings are good to go when the inspector arrives. (In fact, that's one more benefit top-down framing creates: I can postpone the inspection. If I get rained out or site prep takes too long, I'm not tied to a specific inspection before I can move forward with the rest of the deck.) Once the inspector arrives, I can fix any problems easily or I'm staged to pour concrete, which I mix nice and soupy so it can flow in around the post bottoms after I pour it out of the wheelbarrow (photo 23). I can also move forward with handrails and decking at this point. Check out Part 3 to read about that process. Mark Clement is a remodeler and author of The Carpenter's Notebook and The Kid's Carpenter's Workbook, Fun Family Projects! Find out more at www.TheCarpentersNotebook.com. RELATED ARTICLES: Make More Money Building Decks: Framing (Part 1) Make More Money Building Decks: Railing (Part 3) Make More Money Building Decks: Decking (Part 4)