Attaching Deck Posts to Support Beam ?

['nuther Bob]

Looking for advice on attaching the vertical columns that hold up my deck to the horizontal beam that runs across under the joists.

12'x 16' deck, 7' off the ground. At the end away from the house, there are (3) 4x6 posts holding up the support beam under the joists. The beam is (3) 2x12's nailed together.

Right now, the beam sits in a 4.5" notch cut into the 6" dimension of each post. The remaining 1" piece of the post is nailed to the side of the beam. This seems like a weak way to attach the posts to the beam. Also, there are no cross braces between the three posts and I think there should be. I need to redo the footings for other reasons, so I figure this is a good chance to add the "X" bracing between the posts and fix the attachment points.

What's the correct way to attach the posts to the beam ? (Cheap ascii line drawing follows)

Bob

|XXX (X's are three 2x12's nailed) |XXX |XXX |XXX |||| |||| |||| (4"x6" Posts with "L" shape at top) |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| ooooooooo ooooooooo (footing) ooooooooo

[Punch]

I would have attached them (just 2) to either side of the 4x4 post and placed bolts through them.

[donald girod]

I don't think I understand this comment, but in any case you could put a piece of 2x6 on the side of the post, say 18" long, extending over the joint between the beam and the post, and bolt it to both post and beam. However, I don't think your present arrangement is going to shift--there are only fairly weak forces causing movement at this joint, and the joint is under a lot of compression.

BUT you definitely should use cross-bracing between the posts. This has the effect of stiffening the posts and keeping them straight--they like to bow.