Is it okay that my deck posts aren't evenly spaced?

Nov 07, 2026 Last reply: 1 day ago 3 Replies
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russ.grant

Uneven post spacing on its own isn't a problem as long as the beam over each span is sized for that span. Builders do it all the time when a door, a window, or a future roof dictates where posts land. If you went up a beam size over the wide bays, you're probably fine for the…

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So my brother and I just wrapped up a second story deck over our walkout patio, and I keep second guessing one thing. The three posts on the right side are spaced differently than the rest because we're planning to put a louvered roof over that section next spring. We set them wider to handle the extra weight later.



My question is wether that uneven spacing will cause any real issues down the road. The beams are sized for the span we used, but I've never done a roof load calc before and I don't want to find out the hard way in five years. shoud I have someone look at the numbers before we ever bolt the roof on, or is that overkill for something like this?



Also curious if an inspector would even flag the spacing when everything else is up to code. We haven't had the final walkthrough yet and now I'm nervous about it. The deck itself feels solid, no bounce at all when we jump on it, but the roof part is what's eating at me. Happy to post pictures of the build process if anyone wants to see how we did the stairs and the railing.


Uneven post spacing on its own isn't a problem as long as the beam over each span is sized for that span. Builders do it all the time when a door, a window, or a future roof dictates where posts land. If you went up a beam size over the wide bays, you're probably fine for the deck itself. The part I'd actually worry about is the louvered roof math later, because that's a different animal than the deck framing under it.

Here's why I'd get the numbers checked before bolting anything down. A louvered roof is basicly a roof in every way that matters to your posts and footings. Snow load, wind uplift, the weight of the frame and louvers themselves, all of it transfers down through those three posts you set. And those posts are already carrying the deck live load on top of that. What feels rock solid with people jumping on it can still be undersized for a foot of wet snow sitting on top. The two loads stack, and your footings need to handle the combined weight too, not just the beam.

You don't necessarily need to pay for a full stamped engineering review, though depending on where you live the permit for a roof structure might require one anyway. At minimum, find a span table or a load calculator for your snow region and work through it with the actual specs of the roof kit you're planning to buy. The manufacturer usually publishes the weight per square foot and the allowable post spacing, and you can check whether your three posts land within it.

On the inspection question, an inspector cares that what's built matches what's approved and that it meets code. If your plans show the wider spacing and your beams cover it, they won't blink. If it's not on the plans at all, that's when you get a conversation. Worth calling your inspector's office and asking before the final walkthrough rather than hoping it slides through. One last thing, don't anchor the roof frame to the house ledger without flashing it properly. That's where these setups usually rot out, not at the posts.

Gotta push back on the 'find a span table and work it out yourself' part. Those manufacturer tables assume the kit is sitting on its own posts and footings, sized for exactly that roof. Here the roof load is landing on posts that are alredy holding up half a deck, and the table has no idea about that. When I did the math for my own cover I thougt I was fine untill I realized the combined load at the footing was the number that actually mattered, not the beam span. A one hour chat with an engineer is cheap compared to redoing footings after the fact.

For what it's worth, when I added a cover over part of my deck the inspector measured everything against the approved drawings, post spacing included. So yeah, get it on the plans before the walkthrough. What saved me was calling the permit office and just asking what they needed, took ten minutes on the phone and they told me exactly which sheets to update. Also, take the pictures of the stairs and railing build regardless, I documented mine as I went and when the inspector asked how I notched the rim joist I just pulled up the photos and we were done in five minutes.

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