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I'm planning a deck for the back of my house that will be tucked into an inside corner of the building. I'm not sure how I'll attach the outer joist to the ledger board, since that will be tucked right up to the corner on the foundation, so I wouldn't be able to drive nails in from the left side: outer joist tucked into corner of foundation

The only things I can find by Google search suggest things like a corner bracket: corner bracket

I don't see a specific line in IRC that prohibits this, but I note that the AWC Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide states "Use joist hangers with inside flanges when clearances to the edge of the beam or ledger board dictate. Do not use clip angles or brackets to support joists."

I can't believe that this is an unusual problem, so there must be a standard way of addressing it, right? The best I can figure is to attach this joist (and one at the other side with the same issue) with a hidden-flange hanger before I anchor the ledger, but this seems cumbersome. My locality requires three inspections, the first of which happens after the ledger is attached and footings are dug, but before concrete is poured, which means that during all the foundational work, I'd have these joists hanging out in the breeze for me to trip over and/or break while I'm working.

What do I do here?

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  • I'm curious why you show a doubled ledger board. I assume that the doubled rim opposite is a flush beam, which makes more sense.
    – isherwood
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 13:51
  • @isherwood The foundation is a concrete slab here, so the double ledger is for full nailing depth.
    – Gern Blanston
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 13:55
  • Poured walls, maybe. Slabs are horizontal, as in a floor. Are you talking about joist hanger nailing? They can usually be installed with 1-1/2" long "teco" nails.
    – isherwood
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 14:11
  • No, definitely a slab. This is an addition off the back of the original house. There's no basement or crawl space under this part of the house, and inside, there's a step down from the preexisting floor to the addition. And the floor gets really cold in winter. Plus the plat map from the city building dept shows it as "1 STY/SLB"
    – Gern Blanston
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 14:19
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    Ah, so like a "thickened edge" slab? Still, a single ledger should do. Check with the inspector about teco nails. Would save some hassle in fastening.
    – isherwood
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 14:25

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When I built my deck I used a the same joist hanger as the rest of the joists but moved it and the joist inward the thickness of the joist. Then nailed/screwed an additional joist to its face to even it up to the edge of the ledger. This worked well because it gave me twice the thickness to secure the planks and kept the nails/screws away from the edge. The additional piece could be raised to the height of the planks it you wanted to frame in the planks.

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    I agree, and in this case the only place you'd really need to double the joist would be out in front of the building corner (at diagram lower left). The decking can just span the 1-1/2" gap against the wall. This is better for drainage and moisture anyway.
    – isherwood
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 13:48
  • In this case, will I still have enough clearance between the joist and the foundation to install the shear nails from the left side?
    – Gern Blanston
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 14:01
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    That would depend on how well you can nail. If in doubt, you can sink in a few Tapcons or lag shields and then lag bolt the hanger in place
    – JACK
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 14:06
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    You only need the width of a hammer head, and you can use a nail set or large punch to drive the nails if that's easier.
    – isherwood
    Commented May 15, 2020 at 14:14

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