Large deck design metal and wood.

I recently had an inspector fail me for an unrelated item during an inspection. Said item was part of the next inspection and was secured with temporary means because, well, it was just temporary for erection of trusses. Fixed the issue and passed inspection. Then during final inspection a different inspector didn’t like the hurricane tied and wanted to faile me again, even after the first inspector already looked at them and passed me.


Yeap. Gotta love when they have multiple inspectors who cant agree.

Whats almost as bad is when an architect :rolleyes: insists something meets code, then it doesnt and the contractor has to go fix it (and usually pay for it :confused: :kaioken: )
 
Whats almost as bad is when an architect :rolleyes: insists something meets code, then it doesnt and the contractor has to go fix it (and usually pay for it :confused: :kaioken: )

You KNOW they only hire consultants because their seal won't get the drawings past inspection phase of permitting.....I mean, they know our jobs MUCH better than we do :flipoff2:
 
Yeap. Gotta love when they have multiple inspectors who cant agree.

Whats almost as bad is when an architect :rolleyes: insists something meets code, then it doesnt and the contractor has to go fix it (and usually pay for it :confused: :kaioken: )


While the first failed inspection was a PITA to deal with, it really was my only saving grace because it specifically documented the prior inspector’s approval of that one item once I corrected the non-issue. Otherwise the final inspector would have required me to change everything up, costing me at least $1500.
 
You KNOW they only hire consultants because their seal won't get the drawings past inspection phase of permitting.....I mean, they know our jobs MUCH better than we do :flipoff2:

But wait, I thought architects seals are the be all end all? Or is that just the way they see it? :D

While the first failed inspection was a PITA to deal with, it really was my only saving grace because it specifically documented the prior inspector’s approval of that one item once I corrected the non-issue. Otherwise the final inspector would have required me to change everything up, costing me at least $1500.

Yea field changes aint cheap.
 
I estimate residential and commercial framing for a lumber yard. We never see any deck packages like you're describing. The materials you are thinking about are expensive and non-traditional. I'm sure there would be a market for you but it won't include the word 'budget' in it. If you could find the right folks and get your brand out there, it would probably work out well. That said, you are just looking at one aspect of a big process. I might advise taking a few CAD or architecture/building classes as a start for what you are thinking about but that's only one piece of a large puzzle.

Oh, and you can research treated glulam or parallam beams for large spans or heavy loads. Pretty and functional but not cheap... Most of what I see is stuff like that with treated framing. Decking can range from 1x6 to marine plywood with who knows what on top of it. Handrail materials vary wildly, as do the costs.

And oh again- an architect's seal usually means that the plans aren't worth the cost of the paper they're printed on.
 
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Just skimmed threw this. To cover your ass, find a small engineering firm to approve, change your plan to meet code and safety. They should design footings for it as well as tell you the size of steel and connections to use. From what I’m getting it’s going to be mostly steel frame and railing with a wood deck so not to complicated. But paying an engineer will cover you and an inspector won’t be giving you as hard a time if you have stamped engineered drawings. As long as you fallow them they can’t really say shit. I’ve done a couple jobs where they asked if an engineered designed it said ya showed them drawings and said looks good.


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Yeah, an engineer will basically be required for steel because the inspector won't know anything about it and will want to have someone else on the hook. Steve Knight or Gary Barnes are a couple guys you might be able to run some stuff by for advice and possibly design work. Never used them personally but they are small in scale and might be helpful
 
While the first failed inspection was a PITA to deal with, it really was my only saving grace because it specifically documented the prior inspector’s approval of that one item once I corrected the non-issue. Otherwise the final inspector would have required me to change everything up, costing me at least $1500.

What was the issue? $1500 will buy a lot of hurricane clips...
 
What was the issue? $1500 will buy a lot of hurricane clips...


I already had the hurricane clips. But most were already covered up and I would have had to remove the trim, siding, plastic, sheathing, etc. and install all new clips then reinstall all the finishes again.

While the clips are cheap, adding more after I’m already at the final inspection phase is a pain and costly.
 
Whole bunch of good advice and info fellas:beer::beer:....I got to sit down and process some of this stuff. To answer some points.
I am really not looking for some huge company approach nor do I have the means to invest into building a large scale company. I honestly want to look to the "smalls". Projects that most large firms don't take on, and high enough quality I wouldn't be competing with bottom dollar Jose'. Code, and CYA this is what I need to focus on from what I gather.

I really wouldn't mind some classes construction codes, building logistics, and building techniques in general would be cool. I wonder if classes exist? Need to do some digging. The rest I feel is just like mechanics can be boiled down to: the nuts and bolts part. The diagnosis and theory is where its special. Maybe a bad analogy but its what I got so far.

As for the for mentioned project the price range was for materials. Labor isn't as much a factor because of the customer and the realized learning experience of the logistics. I am pretty confident in building a structure that is safe and functional.......but like you guys alluded too that doesn't mean the inspectors and worse insurance companies will recognize it as such.

Keep any ideas coming I got contacts and research to do!
 
Whole bunch of good advice and info fellas:beer::beer:....I got to sit down and process some of this stuff. To answer some points.
I am really not looking for some huge company approach nor do I have the means to invest into building a large scale company. I honestly want to look to the "smalls". Projects that most large firms don't take on, and high enough quality I wouldn't be competing with bottom dollar Jose'. Code, and CYA this is what I need to focus on from what I gather.

I really wouldn't mind some classes construction codes, building logistics, and building techniques in general would be cool. I wonder if classes exist? Need to do some digging. The rest I feel is just like mechanics can be boiled down to: the nuts and bolts part. The diagnosis and theory is where its special. Maybe a bad analogy but its what I got so far.

As for the for mentioned project the price range was for materials. Labor isn't as much a factor because of the customer and the realized learning experience of the logistics. I am pretty confident in building a structure that is safe and functional.......but like you guys alluded too that doesn't mean the inspectors and worse insurance companies will recognize it as such.

Keep any ideas coming I got contacts and research to do!

You teach at a community college don’t you? They should have some sort of construction class. I spent 8 class hours in learning code and still can’t tell
You where to find some stuff but I can get you in the right area.


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You teach at a community college don’t you? They should have some sort of construction class. I spent 8 class hours in learning code and still can’t tell
You where to find some stuff but I can get you in the right area.


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I think it got axed. I know the architecture stuff did. The engineering related is running strong. I will check into it though. Problem is I teach full time, I got to find some evening stuff or summer related.
 
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