# Deck Piers vs Poured Concrete Footings



## Han'D' (Apr 7, 2009)

I too am debating the floating deck with piers or digging, mixing, pouring and setting. My biggest concern is a freak wind that could take floating deck away...

I do not relish the cement aspect and in the off chance we sell the property then it will give next owner options...

There is a thread that shows the steps for using piers and it looks pretty straight forward...I will prolly go with floating

Good luck!


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## McSweny1103 (Jun 14, 2010)

I was thinking about the possible "fly away" scenario as well, especially with the gazebo that i was planning on bolting to the deck itself. 

To circumvent that I was going to drive some anchor rods into the ground during the building phase of the deck and bolt them to the 2x6 joists.


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## Millertyme (Apr 20, 2010)

concrete footings should be used and dug below frostline in your area. Probably 4 feet in chicago...check local codes. Proper footings should be used to keep the deck stable.


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## McSweny1103 (Jun 14, 2010)

Appreciate the info. Looks like project cost will put this one on the back burner until next year.


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## Michael Thomas (Jan 27, 2008)

One useful guide to building a safe and code compliant deck can be found at:

http://www.awc.org/Publications/DCA/DCA6/DCA6-09.pdf 

 As a home inspector I encounter many, many problems with deck ledger design, flashings and attachment, and many of these are quite difficult to correct and can cause considerable water damage to the building to which the deck is attached.

For this reason I strongly prefer free standing decks which are not attached to the structure at all, there _are _a few potential problems, for example it may be difficult to find stable soil near the foundation, especially if the house is relatively new construction and the backfill around the foundation has not yet fully compacted. OTOH, you don't have to place your supports right against the foundation; you can easily cantilever a properly designed deck a few feet toward the house.


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