We are having a deck built and we need to know what the 'code' or 'gold standard' as to how far apart the vertical slats on the sides need to be. My 'DH' and I are in disagreement on this. He thinks there is no need for it, in fact he had the guy built horizontal slats. I weigh 200 pounds and I could lay down and crawl underneath these slats! So we are going to have to have vertical pieces put in. But I need to know how far apart. Thanks. Oh, the builder only put one handrail going down the stairs. 'cause that's what 'DH' told him to do!

As you can see I am not happy about the deck. Also he isn't putting anything along the sides of the deck, no lattice or anything. I need suggestions on how to hide the unsightly ground under the deck. It is built off a kitchen in a bi-level so it's high up.

I wish I had pictures of the before deck so I can compare to the new one. The only ones I have are from our big ice storm when parts of out tree took part of the deck off.

We took the deck from 12 foot square to 16 foot square so I am also having a conundrum as to what to put on it. I am not a griller!

Do you mean the slats that are supports underneath the deck?? You have to have those! That's what holds up the boards you're walking on.

Did the builder use deck screws (big ones. They're about the thickness of a sharpie marker, and are extremely long...great for holding all the beams together, and you need to also have the deck reinforced by having it screwed to the house with them too...not sure about the exact length of the screws)

When our current house was built, they built the deck and forgot to reinforce it with the big screws. When we had the stairs built on, we made sure to have the carpenter that was doing the work for us make our deck up to code.

Are the stairs coming straight off the deck, or do they wrap around the deck?

We have one railing on our deck stairs, but it wraps around our deck (which we glassed in about 4yrs ago) So we really only need the rail on the outside of the stairs.

At our last two houses, the stairs off the decks went straight off, so we had to have rails on both sides. (my mom fell off the stairs once just before the second rail was built on the deck at our first house...wasnt a bad fall, and she was in her early 30s then, so she only skinned a knee or something)

To hide the dirt underneath of the deck, you can always put some nice rock down, or plant rose bushes around the bottom of the deck and let them get a bit overgrown. (if there's a window underneath there, I suggest something brambly like roses, because if someone wants to break into the house, they're less likely to crawl thru prickly rose bushes.)

You might want to have a building inspector come out and make sure the deck was built to code and that it's safe.

I'm talking about the hand rail on top of the deck, you know the sides of the deck. Yes he did put a good support system under the deck but I guess not good enough. He is putting more underneath the deck today. I just hope it is OK. My DH is OK with it just being a standing structure and not particularly concerned that it doesn't look 'aesthetic'!. But the looking aesthetic actually gives sound and safe structure to the deck.

typical spacing for the spindles is 3"-4". a crude rule of thumb ive seen used is if you can ball up a fist and fit it between two spindles theyre too far apart.
of course the closer you fit the spindles the more you'll use.but.....
in the long run you have to decide the impact you want the spindles to have.the closer together they are they can create almost a 'wall' effect.but those will be a pain to paint or stain. further apart gives a more perferated look.easier to paint,but kinda cuts a bit of the privacy from your deck.
as for the space under the deck, if its a big enough area and can be made flat enough....use it. ground level patio type stuff.or stash a garden shed under there.
other than that,maybe plant some nice shade growing ground cover plants.

Your deck rails need to be low enough and your vertical rails spaced so a young toddler can't roll under and out or stick his head in or body through. Don't know if that's code, it's MHO and if there are no toddlers in your life now, somehow, someway, they'll show up. Because a neighbor has a toddle we keep our pool gate "toddler-proof". My cleaning lady had to bring her toddler to work here one day.

Horizontal slats!! What child or toddler could resist climbing them?

Didn't you have to get a building permit? In our area, we would have and we would have had to provide detailed drawings of how it was to be built and then the building inspector would mark up any changes required by code. I would think there is an actual code to dictate the spacing of spindles if it is more than a couple feet off the ground.

[RAILINGS ALSO REQUIRE ATTENTION
Because railings are the most visible element of a deck, they offer the builder an opportunity for creativity. They can be made of many materials, formed to different shapes and connected in many ways. However, builders must remember that the railing design must adhere to local building codes that are designed to ensure safety. Typically, if a deck is more than a certain distance from the ground, as little as 18 inches in some areas, railings are required for safety purposes. Codes specify a certain maximum opening between balusters, spindles, or pickets so that a 4-inch diameter ball won’t pass through the railing.

The height of the railing is also regulated, with a height of 36 inches standard for residential properties and 42 or 48 inches most common for commercial and fencing applications.
Builders must understand loading and how to properly attach railings.
http://www.nadra.org/consumers/deck_inspections.html

http://www.backyardamerica.com/safe-deck.htm

decks, railings and codes info -
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&c...-revision&cd=1

Wow, that was a lot of good info.Thanks!!!!!!

Great information given already. As you know, I installed a pond next to my deck. The deck is only 18 inches off the ground but we had spindles and rails put in for safety. We did remove the rails and spindles for the pond on one side but we kept them in case we sell and the "code" is to have them up. Right now the flower boxes are screwed to the deck to avoid Jim's wheelchair from going into the pond. I kept it in the back of my head that I may need those rails again. lol We had a permit when we built the deck and no one questioned our drawings so I guess we're good.

If you look at my pond thread you'll see how our spindles and rails are built into the deck. I think the spindles about 3 inches apart each and the rails maybe 3 foot apart. I also have a ramp built into the deck with bumpers on the bottom.