How to Install Ledger Board for a Patio Cover

Guide

Installing a ledger board ensures the structural support of your patio cover. A ledger is a pressure-treated board that attaches to an existing wall to anchor a new construction or attachment and support the weight load. With basic carpentry skills, you can attach the ledger board to your home in a few hours. It's helpful to have a partner hold the board level while you attach it.

There's nothing like a patio cover on a sweltering day.

  • Refer to your municipal office to check the building codes for patio covers.

  • Use the pry bar to remove the siding from the exterior of the wall where the ledger will go and 1 foot above. Use the utility knife to cut the self-adhering waterproof membrane to fit over the exposed sheathing to protect it from the elements. Apply the membrane to the wall firmly with your hands.

  • Place the ledger against the building and snap a chalk line across the top. It's helpful to have an assistant to keep the ledger level.

  • Cut a wood spacer from pressure-treated wood for every 2 feet of length along the ledger. Use the circular saw to cut the spacers 2 inches wide and 1 1/2 inches thick. Line up the top of one spacer at a time with the chalk line and hammer 6d nails through the spacer, membrane and sheathing into studs or joists.

  • Hold the ledger across the spacers, aligned with the chalk line. Nail it on the spacers, sheathing and membrane with 16d nails.

  • Use the drill to make a 3/8-inch pilot hole through the ledger and into the home's rim joist. Place a lag screw and washer into the hole and tighten with the socket wrench by turning clockwise.

  • Cut equal strips of waterproof self-adhering membrane and metal flashing the length of the ledger and 6 inches wide. Cut the metal flashing with tin snips.

  • Fold the membrane in half down the length, forming a right angle. Set it in the house-to-ledger joint. Half the membrane will cover the top of the spacers and the ledger, and the other half runs along the wall.

  • Fold the metal flashing in half and place it over the membrane.

  • Hammer roofing nails through the top of the metal flashing every 8 inches.

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