“Can’t we just lay some decking already?!” That line echoes a kitchen project post from last December about all the small prep steps that came before we could finally paint the cabinets. We’re feeling the same impatience with the deck. After setting all the joists, we were eager to get decking down—until a bunch of small but important tasks held us back. Don’t worry: you’ll see decking going down at the end of this post (and that work is ongoing), so we’re definitely moving forward.
First up was an inspection. It was voluntary, which was a relief. Our county’s next required inspection was a final one after everything was finished, but we didn’t want to risk completing the deck only to discover a hidden mistake that would force us to undo work. Sherry called the county and arranged an optional framing inspection to confirm we were on the right track. Definitely worth it.
We passed, though I did make a minor mistake: I notched 4×4 posts, and the county prefers notching only on 6×6 posts. With 4x4s they expect a bracket on top of the post. Fortunately, the inspector was understanding—he recognized that the guidance isn’t always crystal clear and that our deck is small and low to the ground. His favorite line of the day: “this thing’ll hold up five elephants and about 500 of those” (he pointed to Clara through the window). In short: unless we’re planning to host a circus or invite hundreds of toddlers, he gave us the go-ahead.
With that cleared, I moved on to finishing the framing around the joists by installing two band boards to tidy the exposed edge where joists were hanging over.
This was the angled portion of the deck where the stairs will descend, so it required careful mitered cuts. I marked the 45-degree angles with a nylon string and then used my pivot ruler to lay out the cuts on the joists. My circular saw handles bevel cuts by adjusting the saw’s base, so I cut the joists in place and trimmed the two boards at the proper angle.
Next I cut a 2×8 to act as the angled band board and mitered the end that rests against the house. I balanced the board in place and temporarily tacked it with nails, then secured it with screws. That finished one edge nicely.
I still needed another board for the open end. After cutting a second 2×8 with a matching miter, I realized the girders underneath were too long and protruded past the deck edge. I intentionally left them long when setting them so I could shorten them later if needed. I used the circular saw to cut most of the way through, then finished the cut with a reciprocating saw, since two 2x10s were too deep for the circular saw alone.
With the girders trimmed, I set the board in place, screwing it into the rim board and the angled band board. Once I trimmed the excess from the angled band board, the deck edges finally looked finished.
Next I added counter flashing around the ledger boards. The county required additional flashing over the ledger tops after my first inspection fail, so I slid flashing under the bottom siding and nailed it on the siding side. On the brick side I folded a small piece of flashing and tucked it into a groove cut in the mortar—the same groove the original flashing occupied. I trimmed vinyl to fit around the joists and folded a small drip edge to ensure water runs away from the brick.
To keep flashing secure on the brick side I ran a bead of clear silicone caulk in the mortar crevice. That both holds the flashing and prevents moisture from collecting in the gap. It was tedious but straightforward and gave me confidence the ledger and house framing will be protected from water.
Before laying deck boards I tackled stairs and railing supports, since adding reinforcements would be easier with the deck skeleton exposed. I used spare 2x10s as placeholders for the stair stringers and located where the stair posts and guardrail posts needed to be. I decided to place the railing posts inside the stair stringers so the steps will wrap around the posts.
Determining how to attach the 4×4 posts took some work. County instructions exist but can be confusing—especially for angled conditions. After a couple of trips to Home Depot and some research in a Deck Magazine article, I found Deck Tension Ties. These hold posts much more securely than the old method of bolting posts to the outside rim and are what the inspectors expect now.
I screwed a tension tie to the rim board against the house, drilled matching holes in a 4×4 cut to meet our county’s 36″ railing height requirement, and bolted the post through the top tension tie and another bolt below. For posts not adjacent to the rim board I added blocking—a short piece of 2×8 between joists—then attached tension ties to each side of the blocking so the post could be bolted securely. I left a few posts unbolted for now to avoid getting in the way while decking is installed, but I got the hardware and blocking all in place while it was easy to reach from above.
By the end I also added some hangers where joists meet the angled band board—probably overkill, but they provided peace of mind. All told, prepping posts, tying in flashing, trimming members, and fitting hardware took about two days. Tight spaces meant some screwing-by-hand, and pop-up thunderstorms cut afternoons short, but progress continued.
Finally, actual deck boards are down. We’re taking a more decorative approach: mitered corners to form a continuous frame around the deck and a few staggered seams for a zipper-like effect we mentioned previously. So far we love how it’s shaping up and can’t wait to install more boards and share photos as we go.
Now that the project is moving forward, all those tedious tasks are starting to pay off. What small, unglamorous tasks have you checked off your list recently—paint touch-ups, smoke detector batteries, weeding the patio, or replacing air filters? It all adds up.