A Weather-Proof Deck

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If you drill into a hollow that you can't get to from inside the house, fasten with a Molly-type expanding bolt. These are hammered into pilot holes; then, application of a wrench or driver pulls a center rod forward, spreading the wings of the expansion device against the inside of the wall. Once in, these things don't come out, so mark and plan carefully.

If you find serious water damage in a wood ledger attached directly to a concrete foundation, the fasteners may also be rusted out. Drill new holes with a masonry bit and fasten with fresh expansion bolts or with lead or plastic masonry anchors. The different styles of masonry bolts specify the size hole (and bit) they require. Apply a coat of black-tar below-grade waterproofer to the concrete under the ledger board and fasten it with the long size of the largest bolts you can find.

Flashing

In all cases, waterproof the deck-to-house juncture. Your home's exterior is designed to provide a continuous shed for water from roof peak to the ground. Water just rolls down brick, stone, and well-chinked logs. Frame houses are clad with sheet goods, clapboards, or shingles. Any interruption in the flow such as a dormer on the roof, a door or window in the wall, or a deck along the foundation must not interrupt the flow, or water will stand and infiltrate, bringing rot with it. To maintain flow over and around obstructions, you must install a water guide—typically a strip of thin copper or aluminum sheet that is cemented to brick, concrete, or plywood siding or shoved up and under overlapping cladding above a shingled or clapboarded wall, then bent out and down over the upper surface of the door frame, deck ledger, or whatever. The water flows from cladding over the flashing that covers the intrusion in the flow pattern, and on down.

Too many old deck ledgers were just nailed on right over clapboards or shingles, perhaps with a strip of caulking squirted along the joint. Especially when fallen leaves clog the seam between the rear deck plank and house, water will accumulate and soak through nail holes or creep under the cladding and into the house.

Below the Mason-Dixon line you can attach a ledger directly to the house sheathing (with cladding removed). But flash it in. Remove one course of overlapping cladding or house trim under the ledger so it makes a solid, flush joint with house sheathing or foundation beam. Slip a foot-wide strip of flashing up under the sheathing above the ledger, and bend it sharply out and over the upper edge of the ledger, and down and over the face. Fasten joist hangers over the flashing—punching the hanger fasteners through the metal. Then, don't butt ends of joists hard to the house; leave a good 1/8" of drain and airflow space.

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