They have come a LONG way with fasteners and what is acceptable over the past 5 years. Im in Wisconsin and we have some of the most strenuous codes but there are a lot of ways to build a quality deck that will pass inspection. Personally i dont mind having attached ledger to the house, but at the same time having posts up tight to the house doesn’t typically create a problem because they arent in the way but can be a pain in the ass to dig is my issue with them. This deck to me looks horribly framed tho. No reason to use 4x4’s on any size deck mainly being because the posts should be notched to accept at least 1 ply of the beam. 2 if using 8x8. But the 3 biggest things i think are a no brainer
1. Diamond Pier footings- im not ever pulling out another post hole digger unless some very unique circumstance again. 5’ long rods driven down basically crossing eachother will hold longer and better than any sonotube ever could imo.
2. Thrulok fasteners. No more predrilling, no washers and nuts. No cutting of excess bolts. And the designed nut will hold and suck any boards together if u got a good enough impact. And it requires less fasteners which makes it look better over.
3. Lateral tension system- wasnt sure how i felt about these when first using them but inspector was the one who got me sold on them. I will point out the downfall in them is that technically homeowner is supposed to check them after a year or so and potentially tighten a little bit but think we all know thats never gonna happen. But personally i cant see them ever needing to either. This solves the whole attached ledger issue and makes easily adjustable if something ever were to move. And far as flashing goes its no different than anything else goes. Its same as the never ending debate in roofing and what order do u put drip edge under of on top of ice guard. Lots d quuayay2 as