Porch frame came out 3 inches off square after I forgot to check my string lines

Was building a 12x16 screened porch in my backyard last Saturday and got halfway through the deck framing before I realized the corner was off. Had to pull the whole front beam loose and re-dig one footing, but it straightened out after a 30 minute fight with a come-along. Anyone else ever catch a framing mistake early enough to fix it without tearing everything apart?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly6111d ago

Hey man that's a rough one but at least you caught it before the sheathing went up! My experience with stuff like that is once you start nailing off the decking or putting up siding, you're pretty much committed. I'm curious though, when you pulled that front beam loose did you have to redo any of the joist hangers or ledger connections? That part always makes me nervous because those hangers are finicky if you bend them even a little bit. Also, a 30 minute fight with a come-along sounds pretty good for a 3 inch error, I've seen guys spend half a day on something like that and still end up shimming the whole thing. Just wondering if the footing you re-dug actually helped or if the come-along did most of the work.

olivia_morgan811d ago

honestly man that's a solid point about the hangers. I've been there too where you barely touch one and it's bent out of shape and now you're fighting it the rest of the day. sounds like you saved yourself a ton of headache by catching it early. the come-along probably did the heavy lifting but that footing probably helped keep it from shifting back while you were working. three inches is a lot to pull without something solid to anchor against.