Draw bridge on a deck

[AAlpha]

Hi,
I built a deck which is attached to my house. Now I would like to add a deck to my above ground pool. It would be nice if I could connect the two decks via a "draw bridge". The two decks would only be about 3 to 4 feet apart, so it would be easy to join the two with a draw bridge. My main deck is only about 2 feet above ground and the pool deck will be about 4 feet above ground. The city building department is not so easy to talk to; they actually have a fee schedule for "consulting"...
So if I come with a rather "unconventional" request to build a draw bridge between two decks I am afraid I will trigger fees before I have a design finalized. I researched the residential building code, but could not find anything useful.

Is there a spec/code I could reference to justify/create a design that should be worthy of approval by the building department? Or am I at the mercy of the building inspector?

Thanks for any input/opinion.

 

[paddingtongreen]

The slope of the ramp will be too steep to get by a building inspector.

Arrange the distance and height to suit standard stairway stringers from the lumber department of the hardware store.

Michael.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

 

[BAretired]

Why do you want a drawbridge? Why not simply build a stair with four risers and three treads? If you want it to hinge at one end to provide access between decks, that could be done.

BA

 

[AAlpha]

Thanks for the responses.
Peddingtongreen, I forgot to mention, that I was panning to add steps to the bridge to compensate for the elevation difference between the decks.

BAretired, a draw bridge is a need idea. My thought was to not have to step down from one deck to get to the pool deck (when the bridge is down). Without the draw bridge - with regular steps, I would have to come up to the pool deck at a different side since there is very limited space between the two decks as I have planed it now.

The alternative to the draw bridge is a permanent bridge from one deck to the other. Maybe that is the easier solution from a building inspector point of view.

 

[AAlpha]

Of course the idea is "neat" not "need".

 

[a2mfk]

BA- why a drawbridge you ask? Because when his neighbor's kids want to go swimming this summer, and they make it past his moats filled with alligators, he will have a second line of defense... I can't wait to see the parapet walls with the hot oil pots.

A building department and inspector is not your local engineering company, they are there to review plans and construction for basic life safety and code issues, not to figure out how to design and build things for you.... If you want something unusual that cannot be prescriptively built, hire a structural engineer.

Or my unofficial answer that you should totally disregard as sarcasm and because it is horrible advice: just build the dang thing really strong, have three of your buddies stand on it with you to test it, toast your success with a beer, and call it a day. Not exactly a critical structure with really high loading...

 

[paddingtongreen]

@a2mfk, you have, quite obviously, never had to steer non-standard details past a vigilant Building Official.

Michael.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

 

[rb1957]

maybe i'm thicker than usual today ... don't get the draw bridage angle, unless you're using the same steps to access the ground and the upper deck from the lower (pool) deck ??

so it would be pivoted at one end (on the pool deck) and rests down on the ground, and is raised (lifting the far end) to access the upper deck. you'd want to add a locking feature, presumably at the pool deck.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Decks should be designed to match the house floor loads - about 40 psf live + about 10 psf dead. That is what I commonly use.

If you expect BIG parties go for 100 psf.

Now report your local building officials to the state licensing board for providing engineering without a COA or maybe even a PE license.

Seen it done before.

 

[a2mfk]

paddington- The OP expressed a concern about his building dept giving him grief over this unconventional design, that without any engineered drawings they probably have a right to do so... Its not something prescriptive right out of a code or a table, which is why I suggested hiring an SE.

I'm an engineer so I've never tried to submit non-engineered drawings, so I do not have experience in that area...