HerHusband" wrote in message
...
I would still vote for a self supporting structure, not attached to the
house at all.

If it doesn't need to be attached, don't attach it. Low decks seldom need to
be attached.

The deck should slope away from the house about 1" in 4'

That seems rather steep to me? The plumbing in my house uses that pitch.

It is not so steep when you are standing on it. Draining concrete usually
requires about the same slope. But I agree for a deck you could probably get
away with less. You could even go to 0 if you like. Depends on the climate
and exposure to sun. It is always going to be wet when it is raining, so
your goal is merely to make sure it dries fairly quickly when the rain
stops. That means no puddles. Laying the deck so that the boards cup
downwards is a bigger factor than slope.

Unless you are using T&G decking, most of the water will fall through the
gaps between boards anyway.

True. In the case of T&G you definitely want to slope the deck.

-j