To drain the water collected by the membrane, I install standard 5-inch aluminum “K”-style gutter, which is locally stocked, inexpensive (about $1.10/lineal foot with hangers and caps), and simple to hang. I used to install the thicker, 0.60-inch EPDM but switched to the 0.45 several years ago with good results.Īmerican Dry Deck Certainteed UnderShield Dry-B-Lo MP Global Products Zip-Up Underdeck PALRUF DuoDeck TimberTech DrySpace Trex RainEscape / Tuftex DeckDrain Under Deck Oasis UnderDeck The Original Wahoo Decks DryJoistEZ Start With a Gutter My system is fast and easy to install before the decking is laid, and it’s durable as well as cost effective for me and my clients.Ĭommonly used on flat and low-slope roofs, EPDM is widely available at most roofing supply companies (and at some lumberyards) in two standard thicknesses-0.45 inch and 0.60 inch-in 10-foot-wide and 20-foot-wide rolls that are 50 feet to 100 feet in length. There are several commercially available under-deck drainage systems-including some that can be retrofit to an existing deck-but on new decks, I prefer to fabricate my own system using an EPDM synthetic rubber roofing membrane and standard aluminum gutter parts. That’s why I now install an under-deck drainage system on nearly every deck I build that has more than 4 feet of headroom below it. I don't know why the builder would have done that.The area underneath an elevated deck is a great candidate for valuable storage space or even additional outdoor living space, if you can keep it dry. Though from your photos it looks like the hangers were deliberately set a bit below the beam to which they're attached. Since the joist is constrained by the nails driven into it, when it tries to shrink, it has to move off the bottom of the hanger. Like I said, remove and replace the joist hangers.Īre you saying your joist hanger is like this one?Įven so, I'm sure the load carrying capability of that joint depends on the joist resting on the bottom/heel of the joist.Ĭould be what you're seeing is effects of the joist drying out and shrinking. This is not acceptable IMM for this type of application - attaching a joist to a beam. The joist is basically fastened to the beam with the 4 or 6 nails that go in on the diagonal, essentially a toe-nailed type of joint. The nails/fasteners that are driven perpendicular through the hanger into the beam aren't doing anything from a load carrying standpoint. The way they are installed, with the joist not bearing firmly on the bottom/heel of the hanger, means that the load carrying capability of that joint is severely compromised. I would remove and replace the joist hangers. In the worst case, the joist being supported is held 1/4" above the bottom of the hanger: There are significant gaps between the bottoms of the joists and bottoms of the hangers:
This is the overall area (note that the sides have not yet been properly cut out): Trying to remove and re-anchor the joist hangers would be entirely beyond my expertise, and would require a considerably larger hole than I already have. Did I mention this is my first time doing drywall repair? I thought I could just notch out the top of the drywall where the hangers are, but I've been told that cutting through the drywall paper will compromise the integrity of the gypsum. The joists are level, but the joist hangers are not. My problem is that this will push the drywall down where the hangers are. Ideally I would also screw the drywall into the ceiling joists.
The intention is to place furring strips along the edges of the hole, and screw both the existing and replacement drywall into those strips. I'm trying to do drywall repair on a ceiling where the joist hangers were poorly installed, with the worst offender hanging 1/4" below the joist it is supposed to hold.