On Apr 20, 3:02 am, Joe wrote:
On Apr 19, 8:07 am, cj wrote:

greetings, i am building a deck that will be 17 feet wide by 9 foot
deep. i will use 4x4's dug three feet into the ground, with a bag a
cement in each hole. my question is how much support(4x4)will i need for
the 17 foot span? obviously one 4x4 on each end but will one 4x4
centered be enough or should i break the 17 into thirds? so 4 columns
instead of three?
cj

You've got your whole project bassackwards. Take a breath here and do
some logical planning.

1) You will have to have a building permit in most communities.
2) A permit requires a set of plans with specifications such as
dimensions and materials.
3) The plans must meet the city building codes.
4) Many box stores have free deck planning services. Take advantage of
it.
5) Once you have applied for and received your permit, all your
questions will probably have been answered.
6) If you need clarification of any details, the inspectors in the
office can be amazingly helpful...all you have to do is to ask and
then listen.

Common sense says that reinventing the wheel is the curse of the
ignorant. Find out where the knowledge and expertise is in your area
and go for it. Good luck.

Joe

Unless you have a degree in civil engineering and lots of construction
experience it makes no sense at all to wade into any large project. .

Time and time again, every time I poke my nose into one of these
forums I see posts that are the equivalent of asking "how long is a
piece of string". often the poster has made up his mind before he asks
a question.

To the OP and just about everybody else who cares to listen, the post
by Joe should be read, read again and probably copied so that you
don't forget.
After 50 years in the game I could not have put it better. He is spot
on.
Just in case you want to check me out look at my brief page on decks.
http://www.builderbill-diy-help.com/deck.html

To reinforce what Joe has said, I am this afternoon going to look at a
house with a structural engineer and a real estate person. The place
has had illegal additions to it, the owner wants to bring these up to
the current standard. The reason for this? The owner wants to sell
but has only had offers up to $320,000. Similar houses in her street
have sold for over $400,000.

It would have cost her a fraction of the cost she is faced with now,
to do it right in the first place.

Cheers
Bill.