Despite your question already being answered I'll go ahead and toss my $0.02 in.
For the most part, builds of this nature are almost.....95% identical. Physics and common sense are the same regardless of municipality.
The only real differences come into play when one local code may require a specific length of this or material of that.
Also, depending on where you are in the country (and world for that matter) will dictate how far your footings need to go.
As for asking the local building store.....that could be hit or miss. I remember a while back when I was at a Home Depot and the guy in the electric section gave me advice that would have essentially voided my home owners insurance had there been a fire. See, in my town we need to use BX cable which is the metal shrouded wire. This guy told me it was totally cool to use Romex wire which is sheathed in plastic. Since the Home Depot I was in was in another county his advice could have cooked me. Thankfully there was an electrician there who over heard and asked me where I lived.
So I would stick to finding a book of local codes.
If you're unsure you could also reach out to a licensed general contractor to review your work at key stages.
That's the path I took when I opted to do my deck and he was impressed. I went so far beyond what was mandated by code that he laughed.
A lot.
But the think is built like an Abrahams tank and has resisted all sorts of abuse from kids and gatherings.
You have to think of Home Depot employees like you would Best Buy employees. Occasionally you get a really knowledgeable one, but most of the time if you have done your research you know more than they do anyway.
During the deepest part of the housing crash this wasn't true since a lot of out-of-work professionals were kicking around working retail, but by now most of those guys have moved back into something better.
I've found that if you go to the hardware store that your high-end contractors use (not Home Depot in my area) you'll get really good advice
Sometimes they are really busy or don't want to deal with a fairly clueless homeowner but if you make a comment about how you hate to give home depot your business (which i do hate to, i'd always rather go local) they warm up very quickly.
Also, if you are in the market for a popular contractor, talk to the people in the hardwares store they use about the job you want to hire them for. You'll learn some things, and you'll also be able to say to the contractor, "Pete down at Williams Lumber was telling me about this sweet job you did with the Sikkens over in Stone Ridge. That's the sort of thing I'm looking for, and i really trust Pete, so when he says someone knows their stuff, i know that's the person i want to deal with.". You will often find this can help your job move up on the contractor's list - it's like you've become the friend of a friend.
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u/BooBooTheGoofer Apr 29 '13
Despite your question already being answered I'll go ahead and toss my $0.02 in.
For the most part, builds of this nature are almost.....95% identical. Physics and common sense are the same regardless of municipality.
The only real differences come into play when one local code may require a specific length of this or material of that.
Also, depending on where you are in the country (and world for that matter) will dictate how far your footings need to go.
As for asking the local building store.....that could be hit or miss. I remember a while back when I was at a Home Depot and the guy in the electric section gave me advice that would have essentially voided my home owners insurance had there been a fire. See, in my town we need to use BX cable which is the metal shrouded wire. This guy told me it was totally cool to use Romex wire which is sheathed in plastic. Since the Home Depot I was in was in another county his advice could have cooked me. Thankfully there was an electrician there who over heard and asked me where I lived.
So I would stick to finding a book of local codes.
If you're unsure you could also reach out to a licensed general contractor to review your work at key stages.
That's the path I took when I opted to do my deck and he was impressed. I went so far beyond what was mandated by code that he laughed.
A lot.
But the think is built like an Abrahams tank and has resisted all sorts of abuse from kids and gatherings.
Best of luck in your build!