Spacing
To use the bracket, first mark a level line on the house where the bottom of the deck will be, position the bottom of the bracket to this line and make a mark through the top hole of the bracket.
The end brackets should be 4" to 6" in from the outside of the deck and the other brackets should be spaced 12" to 16" on center, or between each joist.
Now drill a 5/16" pilot hole into the siding at these marks to accommodate a 1/2" diameter bolt, dab a little caulking into the holes and bolt the brackets firmly to the house.
It's that simple. After the framework has been set, leveled and squared, add a second bolt through the lower hole of the bracket and into the ledger board.
Always check with your local Building Department for approval of the "Stratton Bracket"
Building Code Requirements
Typical Building Code Requirements The building codes typically require that decks be able to support the same live load as the rooms to which they connect. In a residence, that's 40 psf. for a 300 sq. ft. deck, that's a total of 12,000 lbs.
Take, for example, a 2 by Southern Pine deck ledger board attached to the house framing. With a 1/2" diameter bolt and a single shear applied perpendicular to the grain for "normal"duration, the allowable shear load in the bolt is 330 lbs. Of course, the bolt itself could handle many times that load, but what will fail first is the wood; that's what limits the capacity to 330 lbs.
For a deck with joists spanning 14 ft. with 2x10's 16" on-center and 2x6 decking, the weight of the deck itself is approximately 7.3 psf. Add this to a design live load of 40 psf, and the total load is 47.3 psf. One half of this load must be supported by the ledger board at the house. Simple multiplication (14 ft. x 47.3 psf x 1/2) gives a load along the ledger of 331 lbs. per foot.
The Stratton Bracket® greatly increases the "shear" of the wood because the wood "sits" in the brackets.