DeckFrame · Deck joist span calculator

Sample deck plans for permit

This is a real, unedited export from the DeckFrame Android app: a 12x16 attached deck solved with the 2021 IRC R507 method and printed as the four-page plan set a building department asks for on a prescriptive deck.

What's in the plan set

  1. Cover and review scope — code edition and basis (2021 IRC R507 method with NDS sawn-lumber design values), the exact inputs (size, species, spacing, ground snow, soil bearing, frost depth), and the overall pass/check status. Anything outside prescriptive scope is flagged instead of guessed.
  2. Framing plan and side elevation — dimensioned drawings with callouts for joists, beam, footings, and the ledger, each carrying its citation (R507.6, R507.5, R507.3/R403.1, R507.9.1.3(1)).
  3. Member schedule and details — every member's result beside its citation, the ledger fastener detail (spacing, rows, edge distances, predrill), the footing schedule with design loads, and the 200 lb guard load-path check.
  4. Bill of materials — the lumber, fastener, and hardware pickup list generated from the same solve.
A citation for every number

Plan reviewers want to see where a size came from. Every joist, beam, footing, and fastener row in the export names its table or section.

Refuses to extrapolate

Hot-tub loads, multi-level framing, snow over 70 psf, or spans past the table limits come back "engineer required" — which is exactly what your plan reviewer wants to see.

No watermark, no subscription

The export is free and clean. Make your own in the app: enter the deck once and every member sizes itself.

Will my building department accept it?

Many building departments accept a plan set like this for prescriptive single-level residential decks; some require additional site plans, details, or engineered drawings. Always check your local submittal checklist — DeckFrame is a planning aid, not a substitute for a qualified professional, your locally adopted code and amendments, or AHJ review.

IRC is a trademark of the International Code Council. NDS and DCA6 are publications of the American Wood Council. Not affiliated with or endorsed by ICC or AWC.