Attaching a ledger board to Brick Wall

[tk90]

Hello,

I'm looking to install a deck to my old brick house- it is not a veneer wall.
Looking at the IRC and DCA6, I can't find any info about attaching a ledger to a true brick wall, just that it is prohibited to attach to a brick veneer.

Am I out of luck here- will I have to make the deck free standing instead?

Note that this deck would be supported by a brick wall on one side, and the opposite two corners would be fixed to brick columns.

Thanks in advance.

 

[phamENG]

Talk to your AHJ and see what they want to see. They'll probably want you to get an engineer to design the connection (which will likely consist of threaded rod epoxied into the wall) or go free standing.

 

[tk90]

Reconvening on this- I put together a sketch of the existing supports, as well as a basic idea of the joists and beams (disregard the validity of this design for now, it is just a basic mockup).

I'm mostly confused as many houses in my (old) neighbourhood have decks of this design, and they are definitely fixed to the brick (not free-standing). I believe that my house previously had a deck similar to this, but the previous owners removed it.

I also believe that there may be pockets in the brick to place the beams- my house has an awful stucco siding on it at the moment, but I will find out soon enough!

 

[gte447f]

Joists are usually oriented to span in the direction parallel to the short dimension of the deck (i.e., 90 degrees to the direction that you have shown in your sketch), and a ledger board is usually fastened to the wall to support the ends of the joists, instead of the concentrated beam loads to the wall like you have shown. Not that it can't be done your way, it's just more common to see the joist framing rotated 90 degrees to the way you have shown it.

Regarding fastening the ledger board to a brick wall, as long as it is truly multi-wythe, load bearing, brick masonry, then you should be able to anchor to the brick with uniformly spaced, post-installed anchors.

 

[LuK13]

I am in New England and I have seen a number of decks on older brick structures with the layout shown in Tyler's sketch. The beams are typically pocketed into the brick. Depending on the length of the wall, the deck joist spans can get long, so sometimes I will see 3 or 4 beams to keep joist span reasonable. That being said, these structures predate local building codes and wouldn't meet the current requirements for positive attachment to the wall.

 

[dik]

Have a bit of a spacer between the brick and the ledger so water isn't trapped to cause rot issues, and I'd span it in the short direction framing to a continuous legder to space out the anchorage connections. PT lumber and stainless steel or HDG connectors.

Rather than think climate change and the corona virus as science, think of it as the wrath of God. Do you feel any better?

-Dik

 

[tk90]

Hello all, thanks for the replies

Regarding my sketch, it was done as though I would not be allowed to install a ledger (hence the long spans).

@LuK13, it turns out I have pockets in my wall. You mention that using these would not be code-compliant, why is that? It would solve all my problems to fire-cut some beams, wrap the ends, and drop them in.

@dik good call wrt the gap, will make sure to add that in.

 

[gte447f]

Tyler, I believe Luk13 is referring to the current code requirement that the deck be positively attached to the wall to resist a lateral load perpendicular to the wall. In the case of a simple beam pocket, the beam could theoretically be pulled out of the beam pocket by a lateral load that results in tension along the axis of the beam. You can use the beam pockets, but you will need to also provide a positive, mechanical connection between the beams and the wall. Maybe a steel clip angle bolted to the beam and the face of the wall?

 

[LuK13]

gte has it right. I'm on mobile so I am not going to get into more detail, but you will need to detail some kind of positive connection to or through the brick wall.

Purpose made hardware is available for this, you may want to check out what Simpson has. And this is where phamENGs advice comes in handy. Talk to your AHJ as they may already have a preferred detail or a detail that they disallow from previous experience. Could save yourself some time in the design side.