My First Steel Deck Framing Job

I have a situation that I need to connect a beam protruding from the house foundation. This is because I have a 2-ft. cantilevered bayview rear sliding doorway, which I cannot connect the S channel ledger to. This system, from what I can gather after reading literally ALL the documentation appears to provide no support for this fairly common situation whatsoever, which may force me to choose wood framing in the end. The best I can come up with is to reinforce and notch the end of the beam and cut the exterior joist banding of the house open to receive this notch to have it rest on the bottom plate. I suspect I would have a very difficult time getting this past the city folks unless I could prove the engineering was sound.

Fortress never replied to my email regarding how to incorporate a lateral tension system.

Do they offer options for wheelchair ramps?

Fortress Steel Deckind and Apex boards is Awesome, But Tanzite Stone Decks just might be better 👍👍

Anyone tried this system in Upstate New York ? How are the cities with the permitting ?

Lets talk rust, how resistant is it?

Hey Matt, I would love to hear a follow video on your deck now that you have had it for a summer or two. Especially how it handled the heat and such.

Benefits of steel aside, this system seems like it would be a much, much easier DIY project for someone who isn't used to framing.

At 2m 30s AJ says you can cantilever the joists up to 4 feet, but the documentation says 24" max cantilever. Which one is right?

Matt, I want to build a 1,200 sf FLOATING deck (not anchored to the house), like a big version of your wine deck. Would you recommend using a blank beam with hangers on both sides?

Sorry about your loss. Great episode.

Amazing job, the deck looks fantastic! I’m sorry if I missed it but where did you purchase the kit? I know you mentioned saving on the cost by buying it all togeather but I can’t find anything but individual pieces of this system.

Any racket, e.g. vibrations, noise when walking, etc?

Made an inquiry about Fortress's steel decking last year by visiting their website. Found dealers in my area and went to one to see about purchasing the product. The dealer, who had never sold any Fortress product before, was told he had to purchase a minimum amount of material from Fortress before they would ship any product to him. He balked because the deck I was looking at constructing was 8 ft x 20 ft, much less than the minimum purchase he was required to make. Also, there were no certified contractors nearby where I live. As a result, Fortress as an option for my deck has been scratched off the list. Too bad, as a DIYer who constructed a Trex Elevations steel deck frame in 2021 this product looks relatively easy to install.

Such a great channel. This particular episode just helped me check off all my projects: need an above ground deck, ground deck , sliding door and fencing. Thanks Matt.

Beautiful!

Wow 😲

I used the Fortress Hulk Hidden Fasteners, half of the deck was done and the heads of the screws started popping off at the joist. Fortress said I over-tightened them. I ended up replacing 225 of them and I put them in with my drill on low (1) and the clutch set at 8 out of 24. The next day I had another 8 of the new screws pop and each day after several more popped.
I ended up talking with a guy that installed the same framing and decking, he used the Camo Clips. I am going to end up warranting the screws and fasteners and having to redo everything that I've done with the Hulk Fasteners. UGH!
There was A LOT of figuring to do with this framing system. The online stair calculator doesn't work. I figured out a better way of doing a lot of this framing. (looking to put all this info into a blog)
I installed an L-shape deck and ended up designing a bracket in CAD to attach one side to the house that didn't use a S-Ledger to hang the 2"x11" beams, instead of their suggestion of putting two more cement piers and posts to support it next to the house.
After getting a ridiculous quote for the cable railing, I decided to make my own. Instead of $11,900, it cost me just under $2,000, and that's with high steel prices.

I'd be fine with this maybe in the south west where it's dry ... in the north east I would be very nervous about it rusting to dust.

Talk about opulence, putting a freaking steel deck over a nice poured concrete slab just so you're not bothered with a few stairs! I'd take stairs with a nice patio cover over metal deck any day.

About time US, you're years behind in steel framing. Is timber really that cheap you'd rather use it over long dead straight rolled steel sections? Still yet to see you guys start using manufactured decking I.e. the "Modwood" or other similar plastic/wood extruded products....straight lengths, stays that way, colour is in the product - no more re-stains or re-seals. ooops, I see you have the composite flooring....very nice job!

How this metal joist system will work in Hawaii weather and air moister content? Thanks.

Simple, strong, adjustable, flat and has longevity. Love it

Is that wood ledger attached over the siding? And shouldn’t it be protected with some self-adhered water barrier like Grace or DeckWise?

What gauge 2x6 rectangle tube is it?

Building residential and commercial for almost 50 years and remember before OSB and pressure treated, no nail guns and most moldings ,casings and trims were cut with mechanical miter saws and I could go on and on. I've seen marvelous new products and the tools and means for building from the ground up , many of these are here to stay and some are already being replaced but I've also found some to be not what was promoted of them by people that are not around after 20 to 30 years. I've seen many products fail over the years , brick, wood , vinyl, composites and synthetics of all types and yes it changes with the Zip Codes ( climate and weather) There is one thing that will never ever change if you want something that will last generations .........MAINTENANCE! Once you build it , it must be maintained and there is no such thing as maintenance free . It is true that some are more maintenance free than others ....such as a log home and a brick home , wood soffits vrs vinyl soffits but I've lived long enough to see simple homes with wood and even the cheap Masonite sidings built in the 60S and 70s still holding up and looking like they had just been built , just because of them being washed and painted when needed . Sun and rain is your biggest home killer , followed by too much shade and not enough sun. Log homes require far more maintenance than most homes but when you build one with a porch porch all the way around with no open decks and keeping much or most of the sun and rain off the walls and porch decks........you just cut 50 to 80 % of your maintenance and yet you still have more maintenance than you would a brick home. You match the right paints and the right oil or water base sealers and build with the sun and weather in mind and keep up the maintenance then you will be a happier down the road that you have protected your investment, some people take care of their cars and trucks and some could care less and some are the same with their homes, many simply believe that maintenance means that you wait until it's falling apart .........then you fix it.

Zorg!

It’s a $800 difference, not “a couple of hundred”.

Aluminum would be a good option for longevity.

Aluminum would be a good option for longevity.

Hey Matt or anyone else. It mentions on the fortress website that it’s galvanized, is it hot dip or electro plate galvanized? I’ve got to build a deck on a beach and only want to use this if it’s hot dipped. Thanks

What's the ecological/carbon footprint of this product? I'd imagine it'd be worse than pressure treated wood?

Corrosion is going to kill that in the rust belt if its not galvanized. Tubes will rust from the inside out where powder coating is not able to reach.

New Sub. Very informative channel.

If that house was for my aging in-laws I'd extend that railing and have a handrail at the steps. I love the product

Been watching your videos a long time Matt. Sorry for your loss of a loved one.

You obviously don’t live where it snows even blowing rain I would never wanna deck even with the door

How are they doubling up the joists on the ends and the middle?

Matt you mention you do not like a step down. What about the northern climates with snow drift and melting? I've always used a 1" step down with flashing to prevent water damage.

Finally you are getting into something worth having! All steel or concrete or it is TRASH!

What is the steel coated with? And, is it coated on the inside and outside of the beams?
About the composite decking: I've had local contractor claim that the composite material gets hotter in sun light and transfers that heat faster to bare feet. So, that composite decks are too hot to walk on with bare feet.

Very interesting and looks great. For the skirting I have located them about 12" inboard from the edge of deck and it gives a nice floating deck effect.

Sorry to hear about the loss of your mother-in-law. And the project looks great, as always. Enjoy watching your content.

I stopped watching this channel quite a while ago when it became an infomercial. Still pops up on my feed tho.

Installed a deck with this product last year (as a DIY) because it was the same price (or maybe less) than wood. I really liked that everything was straight. And the way they do stairs is ingenious. And easy.