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Permit and Construction Guidelines
under the 2003 IRC
Residential Decks
Produced by TimberTek Consulting
Johnson County Building Officials Association
This publication is endorsed by:
Johnson County Contractor Licensing Program
Published by:
USES AND LIMITATIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT
The purpose of this document is to provide the public, contractors, homeowners and city officials
with deck construction guidelines that will be accepted by the majority of jurisdictions within the
Johnson County and Kansas City metropolitan area. Members of the Johnson County Building
Officials have agreed that the guidelines contained in this document provide construction
principles and practices that if followed will satisfy the general permit and construction
requirements in their jurisdictions. The guidelines are based on the 2003 International
Residential Code.
This guideline does not contain all of the local jurisdiction requirements for obtaining permits,
fees, or procedures for inspection. The guideline also does not prevent the local jurisdiction
from asking for additional information or varying from specific requirements based on locally
adopted code and ordinance requirements. Other deck design approaches and construction
methods may be approved by the local jurisdiction. Prior to beginning any new construction,
additions or maintenance work on decks, consult with your local jurisdiction to verify that use of
this guideline is acceptable and to familiarize yourself with their specific permit application, plan
review and inspection procedures.
This guideline is limited to deck designs using a uniform floor loading of 40 pounds per square
foot live load and 10 pounds per square foot dead load over the entire floor of the deck. Decks
supporting loads in excess of the standard uniform loads will require specific approval from the
local jurisdiction and may require design by licensed archit