INDIANAPOLIS — If your deck feels a little bouncy underfoot, it might not be the top boards at all — it could be the joists underneath that are starting to rot. I ran into that exact problem on my ...

Q.The carpenter that built my deck used joist hangers to hold up the joists along the house and at the end of the deck. Are these steel joist hangers approved, and will they stand the test of time?

Hidden clips hold the decking to the floor joists. To prevent racking, a kind of building stress often caused by horizontal pressure of the wind, you need to install diagonal bracing under the floor ...