Deck railing post spacing

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Ditchmonkey

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I read that deck railing posts are supposed to be maximum 6 feet apart by code. I have an odd-shaped deck that I am building in the trees. One section of it is 7.5 feet long. Would you experienced carpenters call it good and have the rail span that 7.5 feet between posts, or add a post midway through the span?
 
When I build decks and patios, I look to the aesthetics like lighting and style of that defined perimeter, and balance, reciprocals as well as symmetry.

Would the narrow spacing be a "one off", or fall into the overall aesthetics and shape of the deck.

Is the deck 30" above grade?
 
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When I build decks and patios, I look to the aesthetics like lighting and style of that defined perimeter, and balance, reciprocals as well as symmetry.

Would the narrow spacing be a "one off", or fall into the overall aesthetics and shape of the deck.

Is the deck 30" above grade?

The deck is 12 feet off the ground. From an aesthetic perspective, less posts is better as they block the forest view.
 
Separate question - would you use blocking between 8 inch joists that have a 7 foot span between beams?
 
7 ft is the limit, so no not needed.
MY question will be about using two trees. Have you done any research on that?

Yeah I used TABS (treehouse attachment bolts or Garnier Limbs) that will allow a little play between the trees. The company that sold them to me said this should be a fine setup, but I'm a little concerned about it. Originally I was going to build a treehouse but after pondering the setup, I thought I would simplfy it as a deck and see how it holds up to Winter storms.
 
So your deck has as much like two walls. If the wind blows in the same direction as the joists, your deck has to rack either planned for or not. If the wind come from any other direction the two trees may not want to move together, there will be all kinds of forces working on the deck. I am sure you can make it work, just wondering if you planned for it.
 
So your deck has as much like two walls. If the wind blows in the same direction as the joists, your deck has to rack either planned for or not. If the wind come from any other direction the two trees may not want to move together, there will be all kinds of forces working on the deck. I am sure you can make it work, just wondering if you planned for it.

Ideally, in treehouse design between two trees, your mounts would be floating in both the x and y axis so tree movement in any direction will allow the tree to move independently of the platform. In this "tribeam" design, the mounting bracket can slide along the treehouse attachment bolt, allowing for float along one axis. This axis would likely be the most important one for float, as it will mitigate the effects of the trees wanting to crush the platform as they move towards each other, or pull the platform apart as they move apart.

The question becomes "will the lack of y axis float" ultimately be the demise of this platform? I did attach stairs and they are not connected to the landing so they can slide back and forth a bit so that's one thing. Time will tell.

I knew very little about this when I started, but I've learned a lot! If I have to scrap it next summer because winter storms have really damaged it, I won't be happy about it but hey, learning experience!
 
7 ft is the limit, so no not needed.
MY question will be about using two trees. Have you done any research on that?

Thanks for the info. Part of the deck is 7 feet wide (between the trees), and part is 10 feet wide with cantilevered joists. The 10 foot sections are 7 feet between the beams (attached with joist hangers), with 1.5 foot overhang on each side. Do these 10 foot joists need blocking if they are attached to the beams as described?
 
No, in houses, if the span is more than 7 ft between bearing walls. But you are using hangers and overhang in the same sentence, hangers on the rim joist would not be required and maybe some hurricane ties for where they sit on the beams
 
The usual is to just toe nail the joist to the beam, but with very little movement the bottom corners of the beam can crack and leave the nail useless.
A strap like this would do some flexing and could be inspected easily from below.

hanger1.jpg
 

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