• The deck is more than thirty inches in height above finished grade when it is not over a story or basement. The deck still must meet structural code requirements even if a permit is not required.

Sufficient drawings need to be provided to show the size, shape and construction of the deck; these could include floor and framing plans, a guardrail and or handrail detail, a section, an elevation, and ledger, and bracing details.  Ledger board connections to your house, as well as other bolted and nailed connections also need to be detailed.  Your drawings should produce a very clear design of the deck.  Where there are structural concerns such as cantilever, hot tub, or decks over eight feet in height, structural calculations are always required.

In general, if your deck requires a permit or is connected to your house (see above), it will require a permanent foundation, such as sono-tubes buried at least 60" in the ground (note that if your soil is susceptible to frost, they may need to be buried deeper). Other systems, such as driven pipe piles, helical piers, and conventional footings are also acceptable.

No, Building Safety Staff cannot design your deck; however, most of the building supply outlets in Anchorage have automated systems that will assist you in selecting beam sizes, joist sizes, and other connection information. If your deck requires a permit, we will check your design, so be sure to submit the calculations that you are provided, so we can verify that required code forces were used.