Step2: PLACING THE GIRDERS

Hey! Welcome back to my blog. I want to show you how to place girders-the 2nd step in building a deck.

Here is the saw I used: https://a.co/d/6du3b0d. So, you've cut your posts to level, and now we begin building a deck!

First, you need to put on post caps...make sure you get the ones that correspond to the posts you are putting in. There are 2 different kinds of post caps: one is a 4 by to a 4 by, and the other is 4 by on the bottom to the 2 by on top.

Everything on a deck is wood on top of wood not nailed into the side...for the most part. All we are going to be doing is doubling up these 2 by 8 boards and putting nails in to secure them.

Make sure both boards are pushed all the way to the bottom of the bracket. Angle your screws upwards into the bracket and downwards into the posts. This will pull everything tight. Put one nail every 6 inches, alternating top to bottom from one end to the other. if the 2 girder boards are vastly different sizes, just go with the larger board. Keep in mind that the smaller board is just adding to the structural integrity of the larger board. The deck is always going to sit on the larger board. If you have any questions on this step, please comment below.

This is one example of where the girders are placed on the outside of the posts. Generally, I don't do this but there is a structure built on top so the post had to continue up to hold the roof. in this case, we used 2 half-inch bolts that go through and clamp down. Usually, I will set the outside joists and bump the girders to them.

This is all for placing girders on a deck. Super easy! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to comment below!

Thank you for reading!