Believe it or not, there’s more “under the hood” of deck framing than most people realize. Especially when it comes to structural components like your deck posts.
Most builders are going to recommend that you avoid notching your posts if at all possible. The less you fiddle with core foundational/structural parts like this the better. That being said, notching a beam correctly won’t impact the structural integrity – so long as the load is transferred down to the footings correctly.
That’s the wrinkle, though. We spend the rest of this detailed guide shining a light on how you notch deck posts correctly if you’re going to go in that direction.
Do Deck Posts Need to Be Notched?
The overwhelming majority of deck projects aren’t going to require you to notch your posts in the first place.
Your average deck is going to have you run the structural pieces of lumber right down to the footings (or attaching to piers with a bracket) with one long, continuous, and unbroken post for each footing.
Some projects, though, are going to call for your posts being notched – especially when you are building particularly high decks (second-story decks, decks above high-grade/slopes, etc.) where it a little bit of extra length on your post.
Either way, when you have to notch materials the designer of the deck is going to let you know the type of joint and notch you need to create.
A lot of these projects require a finger joint or a lap joint, though sometimes mortise and tenon joints (something a little more complex) are required to pull things off.
The most important thing to remember here is that the joint always evenly distributes the load that it is carrying directly down into the foundation of the deck itself.
You definitely do not want a notch to redirect or deflect the load in most cases. That’s going to put a lot of extra stress on that notched component, and even the most heavy-duty fasteners and picture perfect joinery in the world will become compromised if the joint is overloaded.
Notch Only with the Right Materials
Secondly, you need to be sure that you are only ever notching the right materials for the job.
One horror story that usually makes the rounds with professional deck builders is a homeowner that didn’t have quite enough material to run full pressure-treated posts throughout the entirety of their frame.
Instead of popping down to the local lumber yard or hardware store and getting new material they instead decided to notch their pressure-treated scraps together – or scab in non-pressure-treated material to cover the distance they needed for the last few posts.
You can guess how that story ends, right?
No, if you are going to be notching anything on your deck project (posts or otherwise) you absolutely must be sure that you are notching with the same material.
You don’t want to be creating all kinds of crazy joints or grafting different kinds of materials to one another. The notch has to be well-thought-out, well-planned, and carefully implemented if it’s going to allow for even distribution of the load of this deck.
Any slip-up is going to cause real problems with the integrity of your deck frame.
Are Notched Posts Weak?
Notched posts that are done correctly aren’t going to cause you any trouble and shouldn’t give you any heartburn.
We are talking about smart notches that have almost been overbuilt, notches using the same material combined together, and notches that have been glued up and fastened (usually with through bolts to really lock things down).
These notches also should be designed in such a way that they move and distribute the load they are carrying directly down into the footings that your deck sits on top of.
If your notches are a little “fast and loose”, they should probably worry you.
Also, if they are not glued up and fastened together with through bolts, they should probably worry you.
If they graft multiple kinds of material together, are not located in the middle and the “meat” of the post run, or redirect the load in any way whatsoever – except for right down into the footings – they should probably worry you.
Lock Down Notched Components
We really can’t overemphasize enough the value and importance of not only gluing up your notches but also running through bolts (or at least a couple of lag bolts into each side) of the joint itself.
When we say that you should glue your notches we don’t just mean squirt a little bit of wood glue into the mix, either.
No, you want to use legitimate construction adhesive designed for this specific application and you want to make sure that you get full coverage of both faces of the notched material.
Usually that means you use a caulk gun to apply the adhesive and then brush or scrape the glue onto every inch of that surface. Take the time to do this right. It’s hugely important!
Through bolts that have been torqued down are going to give you that extra bit of peace of mind that lag bolts coming from both sides of the notch might not be able to. Mechanical fasteners are a huge piece of the puzzle to notching these kinds of posts, though.
You don’t want the notch on a structural support post for your deck splintering apart at the seam.
Closing Thoughts
All in all, the overwhelming majority of people building decks probably aren’t going to have to worry about notching their posts anytime soon.
If, though, you do end up finding yourself in a position where you have to put a notch in this structural component make sure that you consider all the things we highlighted above.
Plan and layout the notch to avoid causing structural issues. Make sure that you are notching identical materials. Make sure that you are evenly distributing the load that these materials are carrying down into the foundation.
Glue up and mechanically fastened your notch, too, and you will be golden!
Did you find this log post helpful? If so please share it with others on your social media platform of choice! Thanks for reading and, as always, good luck with all your projects!
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