I just bought a house that has an upstairs French Door that leads to a giant step(to the ground). I would like to cantilever a deck by scabbig 2x10 joists onto the 2x10 floor joists. Realizing that most cantilevers are 2 to 1 ratio, do I have to scab the deck joist the full 2 times length into the floor joist. That seems excessive because the floor joist is taking the load. The floor joists are on 16 inch centers. Do I have to scab on all of the joists or can I do maybe four on an eight foot wide deck and use hangers on the rest? Assuming a 2x10 takes a 13 foot span can they cantilever out 5 feet?
Answer:
Being a handyman, I tend to overkill rathat than skimp so I wouldn't dare to anything less than a full 2 to 1 and I'd certainly want every single joist done that way. I've heard of these things folding down after being built by many people but never by a cowardly handyman like myself.
Courtesy of Ren Molnar, Construction Consultant at HomeFocus.com. I can also be reached at (613) 748-3003 and Home Focus phone-in is broadcast live 8 to 10 A.M. (Ottawa, Ont. time) on Saturdays on www.cfra.com.
