# 4x4 post?/45 degree angles strong enough?



## mako1 (Jan 7, 2014)

If I understand your post correcty,you are going to bolt the balcony to the existing treehouse and just let it cantilever out.Very bad idea if this is the case.
Hope I'm misunderstanding your post.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Very hard to understand exactly what it is your trying to do and how you plan on doing it from that post.


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## Guuby (Jul 16, 2012)

I have an image here to show you what I mean but its not letting me post it


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Try giving us a diagram of your proposed construction. 

Ok then, keep trying.

ED


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

I believe that you need to post more to get the system to recognize you to let you post images. 

ED


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## hand drive (Apr 21, 2012)

I'm about to tear down a deck built that way on a house. the middle angled 4x4 post is pushing the outer band away as the deck settles and the joists do not even sit on the band ledger strip anymore because of the push out. the posts are planted firmly against the foundation but the engineer said for it to be effective it would have needed post to band metal connectors where the angle posts land out on the deck band to keep the downward pressure from pushing the band out as it settles.

for a tree house maybe you could build it like you posted and after built use threaded rod with large washers up in the floor system spaced periodically across the span to tie back to structure to keep band from pushing out with pressure. screw band really good to joists as well.

the only difference I would use for your design is to add a 2x ledger to the tree house to rest the angled 4x4's against and through bolt back to tree house


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

You can't change the tree house based on how a house is built. A house is over engineered, in a word, to lock pieces of building materials together and to distribute the load against forces (in 3 dimensions, and the 4th that are the diy's) that are trying to tear a house apart.
Without looking at the tree house, I can assume the safest support would be posts straight down. But even that is iffy since tree house is supposed to move.


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## Guuby (Jul 16, 2012)

Thanks guys, think Im just gonna build it and see how it goes, brace/secure it the best I can and if not gonna work will tear it down and use materials for something else or use vertical post.


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## Maintenance 6 (Feb 26, 2008)

I'm not a structural engineer, so I won't guess at what kind of loads your design will impart to the wall, but as I see it you've got two issues to overcome. One is that the deck will try to pull away from the wall at the deck floor, so that connection needs to be very well made. The other is that the "angled posts" (I would call them braces), are going to push in on the 2x4 wall. The shorter the angle, the more stress they will impart. The closer the braces can be placed to the bottom of the wall the less lateral force they will place. I would say 2x6 braces would be easier to deal with than a 4x4. Not sure about your neighborhood, but in mine, an occasional kid or two would soon turn into 6 or 7 kids.


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## hand drive (Apr 21, 2012)

Maintenance 6 said:


> I'm not a structural engineer, so I won't guess at what kind of loads your design will impart to the wall, but as I see it you've got two issues to overcome. One is that the deck will try to pull away from the wall at the deck floor, so that connection needs to be very well made. The other is that the "angled posts" (I would call them braces), are going to push in on the 2x4 wall. The shorter the angle, the more stress they will impart. The closer the braces can be placed to the bottom of the wall the less lateral force they will place. I would say 2x6 braces would be easier to deal with than a 4x4. Not sure about your neighborhood, but in mine, an occasional kid or two would soon turn into 6 or 7 kids.



that could be 6 or 7 kids hanging off of the structure like a monkey gym too. example- what are these angled things?? I don't know but lets all hang on them!


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## mikegp (Jul 17, 2011)

Ignoring how bad of an idea all this may be. Do not just connect the bottom of the angled posts to the wall's 2x4's. Put some beefy wood going across the wall where the 4x4 will sit first so you are distributing the deck load along the entire wall and not just some "studs". I would also make sure that wall is very strong and use some serious metal ties wherever these are connecting to either structure. Pics would be your best bet here for better advice.

Found a pic for you:










One issue I do see is that there is no lateral support. There's no real strength to stop it from swaying side to side like a post buried in the ground. Here's some info which may or may not be useful for your situation:

http://www.aohomeinspection.com/pdf/IRC2006DeckGuideDCA6.pdf


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