Deck Ledger Flashed Wrong - Advice??

[skids]

The flashing in post 2 appears to have the wall leg of the flashing is tucked behind the ledger. The leg should be up and tucked behind the WRB. I also add a secondary flashing that goes over the deck planks.

When you installed the door, the lower siding should have been removed a Z flashing fabricated that tucked under the Protect O Wrap, down the face of the wall, then over the deck planks.

Tom

You are SPOT ON!!! Builder flashed it that way!! Idiot right?

I was lazy, and when I was doing the slider I told myself the slider was all my mind could deal with..I kind of knew that flashing below was installed wrong, but just wanted that door in..Water obviously pooled in there and I am paying for that decision now, lesson learned. I should have ripped out the first few deck boards, redone all the flashing as you said with a Z flash, then put the slider in and put that crappy tape everywhere..Not sure where I went wrong, laziness I guess. Not a trait usually associated with me!

It's all going to be reflashed correctly, and hoping whatever rot I can't potentially see isn't going to be a problem once it's flashed out right. I can't say what is behind the ledger doesn't have some rot, without removing it. Thats just the honest truth..But based on how solid it feels, and how isolated the rot I can see is, it's should not be a huge problem. I am hoping I caught it in time that its mostly sheathing damage not sill rot, and will stil hold together just fine for a long time.

Ideally this thing would come clean off the house and a full inspection would be done. But I kind of jumped into this at 100 MPH and the wife, who wasn't home, is shocked she has to live without a deck until this is resolved.

Money and time no object, I rip the thing clean off my house. But honestly think it is still in the "correctable" phase, if that makes any sense.

 

[tjbnwi]

Put the flashing leg on the deck plank. This moves the water away from the wall before it gets between the plank and wall.

Tom

 

[skids]

Put the flashing leg on the deck plank. This moves the water away from the wall before it gets between the plank and wall.

Tom

Not sure what you mean here.. Do you have an illustration?

 

[Sparktrician]

Put the flashing leg on the deck plank. This moves the water away from the wall before it gets between the plank and wall.

Tom

Not sure what you mean here.. Do you have an illustration?

Check this one out. 

 

[chrisrosenb]

As Brice said,  the water got in at the patio door. That is an Andersen patio door. The way they are designed, there is very little chance that the water came through the door frame. My guess is it got in between the siding & the sill & or the brick mold & door.  

The flashing for the deck should turn up the house wall & bend out over the deck ledger board. It should have a downward bend after it laps over the ledger board. Then the deck flooring is put on over the flashing. There should be flashing under the patio door.

The patio door flashing should run in under the patio door, extend past each side of the door & extend down & lap over the deck flashing.  

There should also be flashing run up each side of the door behind the joints of the siding, brickmold & door. This flashing should  lap over the patio door flashing & deck flashing.

The header flashing  should run up the wall behind the siding & extend past each side of the door, lapping over the side flashing. The bottom leg of the header flashing bends out over the top trim with a bend down over the front of the trim.

 

[Vi_k]

Ice & Water shield or Blueskin would come in handy in that application along with a custom flashing system.

The ledger of the deck should not be hard up against the Rim joist of the house. It should be installed using lag bolts and  pre-drilled spacer blocks. The cavity created by them allows for the water to fall away from the top edge of the ledger and not sit there rotting the structure. The top of these blocks can be cut to look like the peak of a roof.

Another good tip is to cut 1½" strips of Ice and water shield and put them on the top of the joists as the decking is installed. This allows the water trapped between the decking and the joists to dry.

Good luck,

Vi_k

 

[tjbnwi]

Put the flashing leg on the deck plank. This moves the water away from the wall before it gets between the plank and wall.

Tom

Not sure what you mean here.. Do you have an illustration?

A screenshot of a quick SU. This is a secondary flashing, you should still install the primary as shown in sparks illustration.

Tom

 

[Kevin Stricker]

The ledger of the deck should not be hard up against the Rim joist of the house. It should be installed using lag bolts and  pre-drilled spacer blocks. The cavity created by them allows for the water to fall away from the top edge of the ledger and not sit there rotting the structure. The top of these blocks can be cut to look like the peak of a roof.

Although this sounds like a good idea, it doesn't meet IRC guidelines, which only allow 1/2" gap between the ledger and the sheathing.  Using washer shims is allowed when using through bolts, but increases the bolt spacing requirement about 15%.

Here is a link to the 2009 IRC Deck Guide

 

[skids]

The ledger of the deck should not be hard up against the Rim joist of the house. It should be installed using lag bolts and  pre-drilled spacer blocks. The cavity created by them allows for the water to fall away from the top edge of the ledger and not sit there rotting the structure. The top of these blocks can be cut to look like the peak of a roof.

Although this sounds like a good idea, it doesn't meet IRC guidelines, which only allow 1/2" gap between the ledger and the sheathing.  Using washer shims is allowed when using through bolts, but increases the bolt spacing requirement about 15%.

Here is a link to the 2009 IRC Deck Guide

Yes, it's an excellent idea, I have lots of illustrations of that system in my Taunton Deck building book. If I were doing a tear out this is what I would do. But I am have moved to remediation instead of tearing out the existing ledger..I have a friend coming who does roofing and siding for a living to give the final say on whether the ledger should come off, and he's going to flash out the old and new ledger I am adding to expand the deck.

Fact is, when this deck was built, and quite honestly I think they are still doing it this way, the ledger were slapped right up against the house sheathing and lagged through into the band joist. When I add the 8 foot ledger I am going to follow the same concept using Ledger Locks and it will be professionally flashed.

If I ever rip the whole deck off, I would do this with the stand off the house.

I got all new posts into, the old ones were a mess, I am using Rail lock bolts on all the rail posts, and then I am going to probably use Vycor across the top of all the joists. So some of these details made tearing it all apart worth doing. The existing structure is solid and could go many more years, just needs some TLC and to address the water issue.

 

[skids]

As Brice said,  the water got in at the patio door. That is an Andersen patio door. The way they are designed, there is very little chance that the water came through the door frame. My guess is it got in between the siding & the sill & or the brick mold & door.  

The flashing for the deck should turn up the house wall & bend out over the deck ledger board. It should have a downward bend after it laps over the ledger board. Then the deck flooring is put on over the flashing. There should be flashing under the patio door.

The patio door flashing should run in under the patio door, extend past each side of the door & extend down & lap over the deck flashing.  

There should also be flashing run up each side of the door behind the joints of the siding, brickmold & door. This flashing should  lap over the patio door flashing & deck flashing.

The header flashing  should run up the wall behind the siding & extend past each side of the door, lapping over the side flashing. The bottom leg of the header flashing bends out over the top trim with a bend down over the front of the trim.

Yes, good eye. It's an Anderson 200 series...I love the door, but my friend who installs patio doors for a living hates them for this reason.

The only thing about the brick molding is it is caulked and there are no gaps around the slider anywhere I can see, so it makes me think what happened is, water was pooling down in that area where the trim board was. Based on the fact I put in the protecto wrap, and the existing aluminum flashing was tilted up and back directing water at the house. Ice, snow, water and now I have a mess.

The new flashing will address all of this, be done with copper, and bent in the right directions.

 

[peter halle]

<<Edit :  I renamed this thread just so that the previous title couldn't have been misread and someone would get the idea that Brice had flashed this deck.    P. Halle - Moderator>>

 

[tjbnwi]

There is nothing wrong with a ledger being installed directly to the house. When installed and flashed properly water will not get in the seam.

Tom

 

[skids]

 

[tiralie]

 

[Kevin D.]

 

[skids]

There is nothing wrong with a ledger being installed directly to the house. When installed and flashed properly water will not get in the seam.

Tom

Exactly it's done that way in alot of places. Just has to be flashed right

 

[tjbnwi]

 

[jeep jake]

check out this video on ledgers i think you will like it
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/video/build-a-deck-install-ledger.aspx

 

[tjbnwi]

If anyone asks if the Festool drills can drive LedgerLocks, send them the video.

Two things I do differently is I install the metal flashing after joists are installed. No worry about damage to the flashing and it drains water away from the end of the joist (if water can get to them, see below). I also bend it at 90º, when the fist plank is installed you'll flatten it anyways. You must isolate any aluminum from the treated lumber.

Seeing the flashing installed, you can now picture why I counter flash. If you install the first deck plank within 1 1/2" of the building you have created a sealed channel. The water must move to the ends to drain. With the counter flashing, little if any water will enter the channel. The counter flashing is bent with a 7-10º pitch on it.

Tom

 

[skids]

If anyone asks if the Festool drills can drive LedgerLocks, send them the video.

Two things I do differently is I install the metal flashing after joists are installed. No worry about damage to the flashing and it drains water away from the end of the joist (if water can get to them, see below). I also bend it at 90º, when the fist plank is installed you'll flatten it anyways. You must isolate any aluminum from the treated lumber.

Seeing the flashing installed, you can now picture why I counter flash. If you install the first deck plank within 1 1/2" of the building you have created a sealed channel. The water must move to the ends to drain. With the counter flashing, little if any water will enter the channel. The counter flashing is bent with a 7-10º pitch on it.

Tom

Yes, your description is most likely exactly what happened in my situation. The water was trapped in that space between the last plank, and the backwards flashing job on my deck. When I replaced the slider, I caulked that trim board at the bottom of the slider (left/Right sides) and that exacerbated an issue that  was already there.

Anyway, theres some real opprotunity to makes things better on this deck. I have a friend, who does roofing/siding for a living, coming in to asses the rot and reflash properly this week. Then I am continuing to do the rest of the job.

So far I have redetailed alot of the deck so it should be nice when done. I redid the 4x4 support posts since they were all splintered and brittle, tied back on to the cantilever 2x10 with simpson metal brackets. When I pulled out the old decking they had used ring shank nails, so it left some of the joists a litte tattered, so I put Vycor over the top of all the joists-they are now a 100 year joists.  [wink] Today I added the ledger for the 8 foot extension and built the square addition (8x12) and tied back into the existing deck with Timberloks. Which are amazing by the way..Lastly, I have gone around the entire deck with Fastenmasters where appropriate (Ledgerlocks, Thrulocks, and Timberloks). The old deck had been assembled entirely with Nails everywhere and I have seen the condition of the ones I have pulled..So basically, I refastened the entire deck with the latest fastening tech, and even without the decking on, you can feel the difference already.

I am thinking I may have caught this just in time and breathed new life into this thing.