R-Tight Panel
PO Box 700
Jeffersonville, VT 05464-0700

phone
(802) 644-2500

fax
(802) 644-2773

email info@rtight.com

Preffered Deck Details

A. Preferred deck details. We recommend you build your first floor deck according to the detail in Figure 3. The 2" x 12" pressure treated sill plate provides a convenient ledge to set your wall panels on while you slide them back and forth before you nail them in place. After you’re done paneling, the 2" x 12" protects the foam insulation at the bottom of your panels.

There are several advantages to building your deck this way. First, your panels wrap around the edge of your deck to eliminate ‘cold spots’ between basement joists. You won’t need additional insulation there. Second, because your timberframe extends to the edge of your deck, it’s supported by your foundation wall, and you don’t need additional supports below your perimeter posts.

Figure 3. Recommended deck construction detail for timberframe and panels

Several variations and alternatives to the deck in Figure 3 are possible. We show you one fairly common alternative in Figure 4. In this case you must use structural (OSB both sides) wall panels. Here, your timberframe is recessed from the edge of your deck by the width of your panels, and the panels themselves sit on top of your deck. This particular detail could be used for a walkout basement. Obviously you would use a concrete foundation wall in place of the 2" x 6" stud wall wherever soil contacts the exterior.

There are some disadvantages to this method. Your panels don’t extend down over the edge of your deck, leaving a ‘cold spot’ that requires additional insulation between your floor joists. Also, your perimeter timberframe posts aren’t on top of your basement wall, so you’ll need either additional masonry pillars, or metal posts in the basement to support these posts.

Figure 4. Alternate deck details with panels standing on deck edge

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