Deck Help 4+

Seems like a good app however some sort of instruction somewhere on how to use this app
Would greatly increase its value to me. People in different parts of the country/world call structural components different things sometimes. I guess I’ll just need to figure it out on my own. Thanks 👎🏻

David, the deck designer is creating overkill for the stumps, bearers, and joists. A 10’x17.5’ deck has 20 bearers and 8 joists which is far too many. In setup you have the default bearer width set at 4” and joist width at 2”. No builder is going to use material that weak for a deck. A 6”x6” or 8”x8” would be used for the stumps depending on the height. If it’s really high a 12”x12” might be used. A 2”x12” and 2”x10” would be used for the bearers and joists. I’m not sure IBC rules even let you use material that weak for deck support. If you make these changes your users will likely be much happier with the software. Maybe from a engineering and weight support perspective your numbers are correct but it takes far too long to dig holes for all those stumps and lay that many bearers and joists. What you might have saved in material you will spend twice as much in work hours.

There is no help for app (except to submit an inquiry). Many fields simply cannot be edited. Does not calculate number of deck boards of X length, but calculates total linear feet. Deck graphic does not reflect entries - it's just an unchanging image. It would be nice to show the number of joists and deck boards for the values you provide, but Noooooo. It's just a picture.