Hi Following my freestanding on ground deck plan ( three 2X6" beams 16' length each markes as "---" ). the space between beams 6.5', each beam lay on 3 concrete footings ( marked as "0" ) of 1' diameter and 1' dept. the total deck height is 8" above ground. ( deck material is treated finn pine ) i thought about ways to reinforce the deck like using double beams, but i am not sure how it's going to reinforce my deck. any advice will be appreciate [IMG]http://www.mypicx.com/09022009/deck_plan/[/IMG]

I'm still in the planning phase of my deck, but I have a few miscelaneous questions I was hoping I could get some insight/help on. The deck will be ~23' wide x 14' deep, 2-story, DryJoist & Trex on the upper level, conventional joists and Trex on lower level, 6x6 posts, and 2x8 or 2x10 beams. The lower level will be a little larger than 23x14, but most of my concerns are in relation to the post/beam systems and attachment to the house. Please see image below for visual aid. 1) For the upper level, I would like to thru-bolt 2x10 beams to each side of my 6x6 posts rather than notch the posts. I woud like to use the 5.5" cavity created between the beams to wrap w/ composite material to run conduit and install 4" recessed cans. Will bolts in shear for my proposed upper level be sufficient? 2) My original plan was to attach the upper level to the house via ledger board, but my home has a corner fireplace on the 1st and 2nd story that would prevent me from accessing behind the rim joist to nut & bolt the ledger board. My ledger board on the house would be about 23' long, but for the last 5-6' at one end I would not be able to nut/bolt it to the rim joist... I would have to lag it. Is this a bad idea? 3) After reading and talking to people about potential for leaks w/ ledger board attachment compiled w/ the fact of my attachment dilema where the fireplaces are in the home, I have been considering making the deck free standing by means of eight 6x6 posts rather than four posts and a ledger on the house. I recently ran across [URL=http://www.deckbracket.com/printable.html]this[/url] product in another thread here and thought it may a be a good alternative to get the best of both worlds. Keep in mind that I could install these on my home at whatever intervals necessary w/ nuts and bolts, but for that last few feet I could only lag them. What do you think about these? 4) Are eight ACQ 6x6 posts sufficient to support the upper and lower 23x14 deck? I plan on attaching them to footings via Simpson CBSQ. The footings will be deepr than the required 42" for my area (frost line), but what diameter footings will I need? I've done a good amount of carrying and installing composite decking and I know it's not light by any means... two 23x14 levels of Trex sounds REALLY heavy to me. I'd like to overkill the support/footing system of this deck my any means necessary. All comments and suggestions are welcome... thanks!