Engineering a Kwila Sub-Frame on a Sloping Section — Mission Bay

Most deck failures don't start with the boards — they start with what's underneath, and on a sloping site like this Mission Bay property, that's where the real engineering happens. In this video, Franc walks through why a level-ground sub-frame detail simply doesn't transfer to a fall line site: the post footing depths change, the bearer spans have to be recalculated against point loads rather than assumed as even, and Kwila's density (rewarding as it is for a 30-40 year deck life) means every connection has to be engineered to actually hold that weight over an uneven bearing surface, not just bolted on and hoped for. We cover why council consent triggers earlier on sloping sites than flat ones, how in-house engineering lets us adjust the sub-frame design on-site rather than waiting on a redraw, and the specific bracing method we use to stop a sloped-site deck from racking over time. This is the difference between a deck that's still solid in a decade and one that starts creaking within two years.