Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - For More than a Carpenter

Thanks for the advice, I am still unclear on a couple of things.

you wrote...
fthis roof covers the entire 30' long deck and is 10' deep or
more that will be a lot of weight. How many posts? 3 or 4?
With the span between posts of 8' to 10' you need to use at
least 2x8 doubled.

This meaning 2x8 doubled for the beam?

Also, the depth of my deck and roof will be 8 feet in one section and 13 feet in another section. Can I use a 2x4 truss system for the roof, or should I stick to 2x6. I am less after saving money and more after saving headroom since it will be somewhat short. I will have posts for the roof placed at 12 feet in one section and 6 feet in another. I am doing this for visual reasons. Will double 2x8 work for the beam? Also, it okay to butt beams up together and mount on the side of the post with lag bolts? It seems like I only will have 1.75 inches from each side in which to bolt the beam to the post. Would it be stronger to set the butted beams on top of the posts? Again thanks for all the time you take to answer these.

You can mount the doubled 2x8 beam on top of the posts and butt the joints there.

Trusses would be okay if they are engineered................ Don't try to build them yourself.


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