Decks & Patios in Van Nuys, Built in Order
Van Nuys decks and patios built step by step: the ledger bolted and flashed first, then footings, posts, beam, joists, boards and guards.
Joists on an attached Van Nuys deck hang from the ledger, so that board goes onto the house before any framing reaches into the yard. A strip of siding comes off, the ledger is bolted through to the rim joist, and flashing laps over its top edge. With that line fixed, the outer footings are laid out from it, and every post height, beam and joist is measured back to the same reference.
Before the ledger goes up
Two things are settled ahead of the ledger itself. LADBS approves the drawings, and every buried pipe or cable crossing the yard is located and painted on the ground. Then the wall is opened along the ledger line, and the rim joist behind it is checked for rot, size and direction. A rim that is soft or missing changes the plan, sometimes to a deck on its own posts with no tie to the house. Once the board is fastened in the pattern the engineer drew, a membrane and metal flashing seal the joint, and the siding is patched around it.
From footings to guards
Holes for the outer posts are dug square to the ledger and to the depth on the plans. The inspector sees them open, and concrete follows, with post anchors set while it is still wet. After the concrete hardens, posts are cut to height from a level line taken off the ledger, and the beam is seated on top of them. Joists then drop into hangers on the ledger and bear on the beam at the far end, with blocking between them. A framing inspection comes next, followed by boards, stairs and guards, and a last pass over the hardware.
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Each footing has its depth noted on the drawings. Code puts the bottom in undisturbed soil below topsoil or loose fill, and taller posts or heavier loads lead the engineer to a wider or deeper pour. Holes are laid out only after the ledger is set, so the beam line can be measured square off it.
Along the ledger line the siding is cut back so the board sits against the sheathing over the rim joist. Through bolts or listed screws go in on the spacing the plans show, with a membrane behind and flashing lapped over the top. Code allows this prescriptive attachment only into a band or rim joist, so a wall without one calls for an engineered detail or a freestanding deck.
It does, and the application goes to LADBS, the building and safety department for the City of Los Angeles. Drawings show the ledger detail, footing sizes, spans and guard heights. Work starts once they are approved, and an inspector signs off on the open holes, the frame and the finished deck.
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