“Designed for lightweight structures like decks. No heavy machinery or mess to install. Love the adjustable post saddle too.”
FROST FOOTINGS FOR LEDGER CONNECTED DECKS AND MORE IN MINUTES.
The Deck Foot Anchor for ledger connected decks is a frost footing that installs easily into most soil types with a lightweight handheld impact wrench. A compression Load Fin gives the auger lateral resistance in the soil. Best of all, the Post saddle can adjust laterally for precise alignment with a beam – unlike other helical piles.
Our engineering was conducted with 36" augers which are rated up to 1400 lbs (Clay) and 6285 lbs (Sandy). The 48" auger will perform to the same standard or greater. Use enough footings so as not to approach the maximum load ratings.
The original Deck Foot Anchor has been a favorite solution since 2012 for floating decks. The new Ledger Deck Foot Anchor is our answer for light weight ledger connected residential decks or other structures that need to be frost resistant.
The open ended Load Fin allows frozen soil to expand and move freely and distribute compression loads to the soil via the auger and helical blades.
The wide fin profile stabilizes the auger against lateral forces. It's a durable and affordable alternative to traditional engineered piles that are optimally designed for much heavier structures.
Using a lightweight handheld ½" electric impact wrench and a 12mm six point socket, drive the auger deep into the soil.
Drive the compression Load Fin over the auger and tighten the nut.
Adjust the post saddle in line with the beam. Tighten the upper nut to attach the saddle to the auger and Load Fin.
Available for 4X4 or 6X6 posts.
The compression Load Fin slides over the auger to distribute load from the post to the auger.
Available in 3’ and 4’ lengths with 24” extensions to make 5’ and 6’ augers.
The Ledger Deck Foot Anchor uses an auger which drives into most soil types with the convenience of a hand held ½" impact wrench (18V or corded).
The compression Load Fin slides over the auger shaft and is embedded in the upper 12" of compacted soil using a sledge hammer or a modified 4x4 post. The edges of the Load Fin provide a surface for the Post Saddle to rest and distribute compression load to the auger and the blades.
Helical piles are a time-tested solution for all kinds of structures like houses, commercial buildings, bridges and more. They support very heavy loads. But they usually come with a heavy price tag too.
And if they are not installed precisely, it is difficult to adjust the post saddle to align with an overhead beam. Sometimes it's impossible and a site welded bracket has to be used.
But more importantly, in practical terms, you may be paying for way more than what common light weight residential structures need. The Ledger Deck Foot Anchor is an attempt to solve that dilemma.
The Load Fin is more than 6" at it's widest point, giving the otherwise narrow auger tube massive lateral resistance in the soil akin to a much larger diameter helical pile.
The auger can still be installed easily in most soil types with the convenience of a handheld ½" drive impact wrench (18v cordless or corded).
The Load Fin allows a 4x4 or 6x6 Post Saddle to adjust up to 2” to ensure multiple saddles are easily aligned under a common carrier beam –something that is not always easy – or possible - to do with heavier style piles.
Adjustability of the Post Saddle is what really differentiates this solution from the heavy duty engineered helical piles.
Some soil is not well suited for augers. The soil may be full of rocks, roots or other obstructions, or frozen. So you have to do some due diligence first to know if your soil is suited for this kind of solution.
The Ledger Deck Foot Anchor™ can be easily retracted and moved to a new location if you are unable to get past an obstruction.
However, if you are unsure about your soil use a 24" Bit Extender (or longer) with a 1" spade bit and a cordless drill. Try driving the bit into the ground as deep as it will go. This will tell you right away if an auger will work in your soil.
The Rule of Thumb is 4 feet to 5 feet (max.) apart for each of Ledger Deck Foot Anchor footings This corresponds to a design load of 50 psf (10 psf dead load, 40 psf live load) and tributary areas over each footing of 25 sqft.
The Ledger Deck Foot Anchor carries a little bit less than the Floating Deck Foot Anchor because the load is carried strictly by the helical blades (3-¼" dia. current model).
But the benefit is that it can be fully resistant to frost if set deep enough into the soil. And the post saddles are easily adjustable to align with an overhead beam.
Most important is to use enough to easily carry the expected loads. More is better than too few.
If the blades of the auger are driven below the frost line, the entire footing remains stationary even when moisture laden soil in the frozen expands upwards. That's because there is no flat cap on the Load Fin which differs from the Floating Deck Foot Anchor.
The open compression Load Fin allows a clear path for frozen soil to expand upward if it must while the helical blades still remain fixed in the soil below the frost line.
Our Intertek engineering crew travelled to the foothills of Colorado to test the load performance of our 36" auger because of the close proximity of both sandy and clay soils (least and most compressive).
The 36" auger is rated to a maximum of 1400 lbs (Clay) and 6285 lbs (Sandy). With a 48" auger, you can expect equal or greater loads.
Consider these numbers the best and worst case scenarios for the greatest range of soil types in North America. Be sure to use enough footings to support your intended weight with extra capacity.
Uplift forces are not as important on a ledger connected deck as they would be for a floating deck that might be more vulnerable to high winds.
A ledger connected deck is secured to the house and provides an additional degree of security in this respect.
However, the uplift data in the table shows the force required to pull the auger from the soil in each soil type depending on the length of the auger. Longer augers offer more uplift resistance because there is more soil above it.
Our 12mm high impact six point socket is designed to grip the hexagon drive head without stripping no matter the load.
This tiny investment can save headaches on the job site. If you use a low quality twelve point socket that does not fit as well, you are more likely to strip the drive head while under maximum load.
Deck Foot Anchor - Ledger Instructions
Grab a copy of our installation guide and use it to help plan your project.
WARNING: Your experience with the Deck Foot Anchor is entirely dependent on your soil type. Rocks or roots or a weak impact wrench can prevent the auger from driving fully into the soil and an improperly sized socket can strip the driver head. Continuous torque for an extended period of time on the auger, once it has been stopped by a rock or immobile obstruction, can destroy the auger. The footing does not provide any significant lateral load resistance and should be used for compression load applications only.
Download a full-size copy of the Warranty.
These are GREAT!
We put in 4 of these anchors for a small porch in less than an hour. They are rock solid and I still had the strength to throw around the joists and deck boards. My wife and I finished the 8 x 8 porch in less than a weekend. We were so impressed that we purchased 32 more for the 33’ x 21’ deck that we are building this weekend. This is a wonderful. Read more about review stating These are GREAT! product that will save your back, arms and sometimes your relationships.
Deck Foot Anchor
The is the second deck on which I have used the Titan Deck Foot Anchors . . . both decks were "close to the ground" decks and not attached to the house - although they both butted up to the house. The Deck Foot Anchors handled the job beautifully - easy to install, easy to attach the framing members to and were WAY easier and faster than digging hRead more about review stating Deck Foot Anchoroles, mixing cement and installing posts. I highly recommend the Titan Deck Foot Anchors!
Yep, it works. So far so good.
So this is an off label application. I'm building steps to the beach. It's a 45' elevation change on a bluff that is an unstable mix of sand and clay. This first purchase was a test installation. I tested both a battery powered and a line voltage powered impact wrench with +300 ft. lbs. of torque. Both drove the 36" anchor to the full depth. Yep, it works. So far so good. Battery was exhausted on driving just one anchor so I recommend a corded solution. Stability will be an issue with this application. Nothing short of 50' deep pilings is rock solid in these soil conditions and that is cost prohibitive. Planning to float the stairs on trestles anchored with these footings to accommodate these soil conditions.
Multi-Level Hot Tub Deck
This was a large multi-level deck that really shows off the usefulness of the Titan Deck Foot Anchor™. Three separate areas. All intricately designed to wrap around a hot tub spa and create intimate areas.
The first area was off the back patio door about 3-1/2' high. The others were lower level platforms over a gradual grade sloping away from the house.
All 24 footings were installed before lunch hour.
Another building benefit is being able to use the Titan Deck Foot Anchor™ to easily drop beams within 2" of the grade. Try doing this with a block...
Low Set Beams
You can also hang joists from beam face to beam face if you really wanted to hide all the beams of a low-level deck. That is next to impossible to do with blocks.
First, if we used concrete blocks we would have had trouble figuring out how to get the deck joist framing as low to the ground because they sit higher.
Second, the deck would just loosely sit on them. Here, each footing and post to beam connection is secured to the ground.
Third, we didn't want to see cement blocks when you walked by the highest level deck.
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