I am thinking about extending my existing deck, 10 ft wide by 18 ft long and replacing the deck boards with composite decking. I would like to know how far can I extend the deck width without adding another beam at the end of the joists?
Currently, the 10 ft joists are connected to a ledger on one end, while the other ends are set on a beam supported by 4 posts. How far can the joists be extended (cantilevered) past the beam, 3ft, 4ft?
If the joists can be cantilevered, can I extend the existing 10 ft joists with another 2x8? Or, do I have to replace all the joists with new 2x8's of a length equal to the deck width?
Thank you.