1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to decks which may be affixed to homes or similar structures, and more particularly to an angled bracket for supporting a seat and a back rest around the perimeter of the deck.
2. Description of Related Art
Decks are constructed various distances above the ground, and in most instances a railing is required around the perimeter of a deck for the safety of people on the deck. If a person were to fall off the deck because the railing failed, he or she would be severely injured, if not killed.
Many decks include only a deck seat around the perimeter of the deck which functions as a safety device and as a seat for people to sit on while on the deck. Rusting of hardware can be a problem with a deck over a long period of time whereby reduced metal parts is desirable along with plating of the hardware and use of oversized hardware. There is a continuing need for inexpensive, minimal parts, simple-to-construct, sturdy bench-type seat for attaching to a deck, so that such a deck seat can be easily assembled by homeowners doing a home improvement project or by contractors.
The following U.S. patents disclose bench-type deck seats of the prior art:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,471 issued Aug. 16, 1994 to Francis X. Graney of Tewksbury, Mass. discloses a method of constructing a seat for a wooden deck comprising a triangular seat brace, a deck floor side bracket, and an anchor joint bracket. Risers are attached to the perimeter of the deck via side brackets and the braces, and the braces attach directly to their respective risers. Planks are attached to the top of the braces and across the risers to form the seat portions and back portions respectively of the deck seat. However, the risers tend to protrude outward on the rear side of the seat which in some installations is not acceptable, and the wooden risers may split after a period of use causing an unsafe situation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,542 issued Aug. 25, 1981 to Ives L. Boisvert of Minneapolis, Minn. discloses a deck seat bracket connected to a base such as a deck, and the bracket supports a seat and a back joist of a bench-type seat. The bracket includes a quadrangular portion having a top which supports a seat and a bottom which attaches to a deck. An L-shaped portion extends below the quadrangular portion for supporting the bottom end of a back joist. However, all the weight of an occupant of the deck seat is directed to an edge of the deck. In some cases, a small portion of one board that forms at least one edge of the deck is destined to early failure and severe injuries to the seat occupant. The height of the seat and the weight of a person on the seat creates a large leverage that can be applied to the point where the back joist is attached at the edge of the deck.
Accordingly, it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a metal angled bracket for supporting the seat portion and the back rest portion of a deck seat around the perimeter of a deck.
It is another object of the invention to provide a railing angled bracket having a deck stop for consistent positioning of the bracket on the side of the deck.
It is another object of this invention to provide a deck seat angled bracket that protrudes approximately one inch away from the rear side of the deck seat.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a deck seat metal angled bracket that does not require welding during manufacturing.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a deck seat with minimum assembly parts including all required hardware for safe assembly.
These and other objects are accomplished by a deck seat for a deck comprising a plurality of spaced-apart preformed angled brackets attached to a perimeter of the deck, a plurality of right triangle-shaped braces, each of the braces attaches between one of the plurality of preformed angled brackets and a floor of the deck, a first set of planks secured to a top portion of the braces to form a seat portion of the deck seat, and a second set of planks secured to the angled brackets to form a back rest portion of the deck seat. The angled bracket comprises a deck stop protruding from a predetermined position on the bracket to enable consistent placement of the bracket on the perimeter of the deck. The bracket angles away from the deck starting at the deck stop. Each of the preformed angled brackets comprises a first section extending to a deck stop protruding from a side of the bracket for mounting on the perimeter of the deck, and a second section extending from the deck stop at a preformed angle away from the deck.
The objects are further accomplished by a method for constructing a seat for a wooden deck comprising the steps of attaching a plurality of spaced-apart angled brackets to a perimeter of the deck, attaching each one of a plurality of right triangle-shaped braces between one of the plurality of preformed angled brackets and a floor of the deck, securing a first set of planks to a top portion of the plurality of braces to form a seat portion of the deck seat, and securing a second set of planks to an upper portion of the plurality of angled brackets to form a back rest portion of the deck seat. The method comprises the step of providing a deck stop on each of the plurality of preformed angled brackets, the deck stop protrudes from a lower portion of the bracket to enable consistent placement of the bracket on the perimeter of the deck. The step of attaching the plurality of right triangle-shaped braces to a floor of the deck comprises the step of bolting a floor end of each of the braces to an anchor member attached to a stringer under the deck floor. The step of attaching each one of a plurality of right triangle-shaped braces to one of the plurality of preformed angled brackets and a floor of the deck comprises the step of positioning a first side of each brace parallel to the floor planks, a second side of each brace perpendicular to the floor planks, and a hypotenuse side of each brace extends between the preformed angled bracket and the floor of the deck.
The objects are further accomplished by a bracket for a deck seat comprising a first section extending to a deck stop protruding from a side of the bracket, and a second section extending from the deck stop at a preformed angle relative to the first section. The bracket comprises channel steel.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.
The appended claims particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter of this invention. The various objects, advantages and novel features of this invention will be more fully apparent from a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and in which:
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It is to be noted that the seat support 15 is bolted several inches in from the edge or perimeter of the deck 10. This transfers the pulling tension to the stringers 9, 13 below the deck. After years and years of service, sufficient strength still remains such that the railing angled bracket 17 cannot be pushed or torn away from the side of the deck 10 regardless of the force or weight placed upon the railing/deck seat 11 arrangement.
When the bench-type deck seat is entirely assembled, it presents a minimum of steel which is not predominantly seen by the owner who stands on the deck, but instead the owner primarily sees the floor boards 14 and the seat and back rest boards 26, 28 that form the railing/seat around the deck 10.
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Other systems merely depend on bolting to the edge of the deck boards 14 and the stringer 13 along the perimeter of the deck 10. Obviously they will fail under any significant load placed on the railing angled bracket 17. The present system transfers the tension to the underdeck structure which remains strong throughout the deck's life.
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This invention has been disclosed in terms of a certain embodiment. It will be apparent that many modifications can be made to the disclosed apparatus without departing from the invention. Therefore, it is the intent of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of this invention.