Decks are such an integral part of an american house that the owners cannot think of living in a home without one. Be it a single home of any size or a town home, a deck is where memories are built with kids playing or grilling and entertaining.

But, as much as it is common to construct a deck, it is not very common to calculate the stress or loads on the deck before building. It is very often a cookie cutter design with not much thought into the area where your home is. Whether it is subjected to tornadoes or other natural disasters.

This article in Fine Homebuilding shows what kinds of loads a deck needs to support and the forces that act on a deck.

When constructing a deck, there are many questions regarding joist sizes and the spacing in between. Understanding the types of wood used with its specific spacing and sizes will make a deck more economical to construct and more solid and stable. An article from Fine Homebuiding can provide further information and can be read  here