Floating & Ground-Level Decks: What's Different

Not every deck needs to hang off the house. A floating deck — also called a freestanding or ground-level deck — carries its whole load on its own beams and posts, with no ledger board bolted to the band joist at all. That single difference changes your footings, your framing sequence, and sometimes your permit process.

This guide walks through exactly what's different between a floating deck and an attached one, when builders choose freestanding on purpose, and where the footing-depth rules loosen up for low decks.

What Actually Makes a Deck "Floating"?

A floating deck is freestanding. Instead of one edge resting on a ledger board bolted through the house's band joist, all four sides sit on their own beams, which sit on their own posts and footings. Nothing about the deck depends on the house structurally. An attached deck, by contrast, transfers roughly half its load into the house framing through the ledger board, which is why ledger attachment gets so much attention from inspectors. The full code language covering that connection sits in IRC R507.9, and it's worth a read if you're weighing up which route to take.

Why Would a Builder Choose Freestanding Over Attached?

Freestanding isn't just for decks that happen to sit away from the house. Plenty of builders choose it deliberately, even right up against the wall, for reasons that have nothing to do with style.

• A rotten or damaged band joist that won't reliably hold lag screws or through-bolts, and isn't worth repairing just to attach a deck
• Brick veneer or stone cladding, which isn't structural and can't safely carry ledger loads without specialist flashing and blocking work
• Stucco or EIFS finishes, where drilling through the cladding for a ledger risks water intrusion behind the wall
• Engineered I-joists or open-web floor trusses in the house, which aren't always rated for the concentrated point loads a ledger connection applies
• A homeowner who simply doesn't want new holes drilled into the house at all, particularly on a newer or recently re-sided home

How Do Floating and Attached Decks Actually Compare?

The framing tables are identical either way — a 2x10 joist spans the same distance whether or not the deck touches the house. What changes is how the load gets to the ground, what the footings look like, and how the project gets priced and permitted.

Do Floating Decks Still Need Frost-Depth Footings?

Not always, and this is where a lot of homeowners get confused. Standard IRC R507.3 footings need to extend below the local frost line — anywhere from about 12 inches in the South to 36-48 inches across the Midwest, and up to 60 inches in the upper Midwest and New England. That rule protects a footing from frost heave, which can lift and crack a pier over a winter.

Ground-level or floating decks that sit 30 inches or less above grade are a different case. In many, though not all, jurisdictions, a low freestanding deck can use shallower footings, or even precast concrete deck blocks sitting on compacted gravel, instead of a full frost-depth pier. A light, low platform without a permanent ledger connection is less likely to cause serious damage if it shifts slightly with frost, and it's easier to relevel if it does. That said, this is a local amendment, not a blanket national rule — some jurisdictions still want frost-depth footings on every deck regardless of height. Always check with your local building department before you pour, or run your numbers through the deck footing calculator and confirm against the local frost line.

Worked Scenario: A Homeowner With Brick Veneer

Picture a homeowner planning a 12-by-16-foot deck off the back of a house finished in full brick veneer. The contractor's first look at the wall rules out a standard ledger attachment straight away — brick veneer is a non-structural skin with an air gap behind it, and lagging through to the structural wall behind risks cracking the brick and creating a water path into the cavity.

Instead, the builder frames the deck freestanding, with a beam running along the house side supported on its own posts and footings, set a few inches off the wall to allow drainage and airflow. The joists and beam are sized exactly as they would be for an attached deck of the same footprint — nothing changes there. The only real differences are one extra beam and its footings along the house side, and a small gap between the decking and the siding. The homeowner ends up with a deck that's slightly more expensive in footings and lumber than a ledger-mounted version, but with zero risk of a ledger pulling away from a wall it was never meant to be bolted to.

What Guard Rules Apply Once a Deck Is Over 30 Inches?

Height above grade decides your guard requirement regardless of whether the deck is attached or freestanding. Under IRC R312, a guard is required anywhere the walking surface sits more than 30 inches above the grade or floor below, and it must stand at least 36 inches tall, with balusters spaced to stop a 4-inch sphere passing through. A floating deck built low and close to the ground, at 30 inches or under, can often skip guards entirely and rely on the low step-off instead, which is one more reason ground-level decks are a popular choice for a simple platform. The moment you raise that same floating deck onto taller posts, though, it needs the same railing as any attached deck at that height.

Floating Deck or Patio: Where's the Line?

For a platform sitting only a few inches off the ground, it's worth asking whether you even need a framed deck at all. A patio skips joists, beams, and footings altogether in favour of pavers or a poured slab on a prepared base, which is often cheaper for a small, low, flat area. A floating deck starts to make more sense once you want a level surface over a sloped or uneven yard, a platform raised even a little above grade, or a structure you might want to extend or build stairs off later. If you're comparing the two for a low backyard project, our guide on floating decks versus patios walks through the cost and maintenance trade-offs in more detail.

“A freestanding deck doesn't fail any less often because it's simpler — it fails less often because there's no ledger connection to get wrong. Size the footings properly and a floating deck is one of the most forgiving structures you can build.”

If your wall can't take a proper ledger connection, or you'd simply rather not drill into the house, a floating deck gives you the same framing strength without that risk. Check your local frost line and height above grade first, since those two numbers decide your footing depth and whether guards are required, then size the rest of the structure exactly as you would for an attached deck.