Deck Ledger Board Masonite Siding

Most house framing relies on building elements floors walls roofs being stacked one atop another.

Deck ledger board masonite siding.

Aluminum and vinyl siding can easily be removed with tin snips from an area one foot surrounding the ledger board location. Installing a ledger connection to a house after it is constructed is a major job. The top of the ledger board should be lower than the desired top of the finished deck by one decking board s thickness plus the thickness of the flashing usually 1 8 inch. I have designed every last detail of the deck yet feel the ledger board is still in the gray zone.

Step 1 determine the size of the ledger board. It gets complicated in a hurry. Carefully determine the height for the ledger which will also be the height for all the joist framing. The following steps will explain an easy method of removing the lap siding and attaching a ledger board.

The house has two layers of siding. The first bottom layer is a masonite siding covered over by a hardy board cement. To ensure proper strength a ledger board should be made out of the same size lumber that was used to make the deck joists usually 2 inch by 10 inch boards. Properly installing a ledger board for your deck is one of the most important structural components of building a safe and strong deck.

Never install a ledger board over the top of siding no matter what you hear this can weaken the connection. Like the rest of the posts i am hoping to replace an existing martini deck with a larger version this coming summer. Ledger boards which lend strength and support to a deck by connecting it to a house must be installed on a virtually flat surface. It is certainly not a job for a weekend carpenter or diy er.

These 18 articles will teach you how to install flashing and bolt the ledger connection to the house rim. A ledger relies on the fasteners and strength of the wood ledger board and rim board of the house to carry the deck live and dead loads. Just imagine having to remove courses of masonry or lap board siding and then precisely locate the band board accurately to avoid damaging the wrong part of the siding.