May is National Deck Safety Month, and a perfect time to give your deck a once-over before the outdoor summer gathering season begins! Your residential deck is a place for gathering, accessing your home or yard, and enjoying the great outdoors. While it is, for the most part, a simple structure, having the important resources and knowledge about your deck can help you ensure your deck’s safety and longevity.

A lot of jurisdictions do not require a registered design professional's stamp on residential deck projects in order to obtain a permit.  They do, however, require that those decks and their components meet the code requirements of the International Residential Code (IRC), International Building Code (IBC), and/or the governing code for the jurisdiction.  It's important to keep your jurisdiction deck requirements close by and in mind while working through this as some jurisdictions have more stringent requirements that could impact your deck plans.

Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide - American Wood Council

[pdf] https://www.awc.org/pdf/codes-standards/publications/dca/AWC-DCA62015-DeckGuide-1804.pdf

The American Wood Council (AWC) has put out this great comprehensive guide to wood deck construction based on the current IRC. 

Simpson Strong-Tie Safe, Strong Deck Guide

[pdf] https://embed.widencdn.net/pdf/plus/ssttoolbox/q4qw4c2zsj/F-DECKCODE17.pdf

This is another great overview on deck requirements, the loading conditions a deck sees, and how to resolve those loads. 

Simpson Strong-Tie Guardrail Connection Technical Bulletin

[pdf] https://embed.widencdn.net/pdf/plus/ssttoolbox/tsge27t5a1/T-F-GRDPSTRL18.pdf

Connecting your deck guardrails properly is a very important step in ensuring your deck safety for the occupants.  Simpson provides a great resource on the hardware and screw layouts to meet code requirements for guardrail connections.

Your local professional

In some cases, it's just best to get a look over from your favorite local engineer.  Decks and their structural safety is not something to take lightly, and an engineer can give you some peace of mind for the future of your deck.  Additionally, when your deck has any irregularities such as being roof top or over living space, holding a hot tub or concrete pavers, or on critical slopes or a retaining wall, it may be best to have a professional be sure you've dotted your i's and crossed your t's. 

I would love to keep adding to this list!! Please share any resources that have helped you navigate your own deck projects!

Disclaimer: Although I am an engineer by profession, I am not YOUR engineer.  All content and information in this post (and on this website) is for informational and educational purposes only, does not constitute professional advice and does not establish any kind of professional-client relationship by your use of this website.  Refer to my full disclaimer for more information.