The words a deck quote uses

Ledger

The horizontal board bolted to the house that carries one edge of an attached deck. Its connection to the band joist behind the wall, and the flashing above it, are the two details that decide whether an attached deck stays put and stays dry.

Band joist

The framing member running around the perimeter of a house floor, behind the wall covering. A ledger bolts into it. Slab-on-grade houses do not have one at deck height, which is why freestanding framing is so common on newer Alachua County housing.

Flashing

Metal fitted above a ledger and tucked up behind the wall covering so water running down the wall passes over the ledger rather than behind it. Its absence is the single most common cause of hidden rot on an attached deck.

Joist

The repeating framing members that span between beams and carry the decking. Size and spacing are set by the span and the load, and by what the decking manufacturer requires, which can be tighter than the code minimum.

Joist hanger

A metal connector that supports the end of a joist where it meets a ledger or beam. It has to be filled with the fasteners the manufacturer specifies, in the rating suited to treated lumber, or it is doing a fraction of its job.

Beam

The member carrying multiple joists and transferring their load to the posts. On a deck it usually runs along the outer edge, and sometimes mid-span as well where the joists cannot reach in one run.

Post

The vertical member carrying beam load down to a footing. Posts near or in the ground need ground contact rated material, and taller posts need bracing to keep the structure from racking sideways.

Post base

A metal connector that fixes a post to its footing while holding the end grain clear of the concrete. Wood sitting directly on concrete wicks water and stays damp, which is why the standoff matters more here than in a dry climate.

Footing

The concrete pad or pier that transfers post load into the soil. In Florida the depth is decided by finding undisturbed bearing rather than by a frost line, so holes on the same lot are not always the same depth.

Ground contact rating

A preservative treatment use category for lumber in soil contact, or close enough to it to stay damp. It is a heavier treatment than the above-ground category. Using the wrong one at grade is the most common reason a frame goes soft at the base.

Above-ground rating

The lighter preservative treatment category, intended for lumber that stays clear of the ground and can dry out. Correct for most joists and decking, wrong for posts and anything at grade.

Southern yellow pine

The species most treated deck lumber in this region is cut from. Strong and inexpensive, and it moves as it dries, which is why new treated boards are fastened well and left to settle before any finish goes on.

Capped composite

Decking made of wood flour and polymer with a hard outer cap. The cap is what resists staining, fading, and moisture. Uncapped composite is an older product and does not perform the same way in a humid climate.

PVC decking

Decking with no wood content at all, so nothing in it for decay fungi to feed on. Lighter than composite, tends to run slightly cooler than a comparable dark composite, and generally more expensive.

Hidden fastener

A clip or biscuit system that holds composite boards from the side rather than through the face, leaving no visible screw heads. Each board range is designed around a particular system, and mixing them is how gapping goes wrong.

Expansion gap

The deliberate space left between boards and at board ends so the material can move with temperature. Composite and PVC move more than wood, and the manufacturer specifies the gap for the temperature at installation.

Guard

The code term for what most people call a railing: the barrier along an open edge that stops a fall. Height and the spacing between balusters are set by code, and a guard that flexes when pushed is the most common serious defect on an older deck.

Baluster

The vertical members filling a guard between posts and rails. Spacing is limited so a small child cannot pass through, which is why replacement balusters are not a free-form design choice.

Stringer

The notched member carrying stair treads. Stringers take more load and more water than the deck does, and where a stringer meets the ground it needs ground contact rated material or a proper base.

Rise and run

The height of each stair step and the depth of each tread. Code sets limits on both and on how much they may vary between steps, because uneven steps are what people trip on.

Section R507

The part of the residential building code covering exterior decks: footings, posts, beams, joists, decking, guards, and the ledger connection. It is the reference an inspector is working from on a deck inspection.

Risk category

A building code classification that sets how severe a design wind event a structure is built for. Alachua County publishes most residential construction at 130 mph and states that no part of the county is in a wind-borne debris region.

Uplift

Wind force acting upward on a structure. It matters little on an open deck and a great deal once there is a roof, pergola, or screen enclosure above it, because those are surfaces the wind can get under.

Continuous load path

The unbroken chain of connections carrying load from the top of a structure down to the ground. On a covered deck it runs rafter to beam to post to footing, and the whole chain is only as good as the weakest connection in it.

Notice of commencement

A document recorded before construction begins on permitted work in Florida. Alachua County requires a certified copy to be provided to the building department before the first inspection, which is a step that often holds projects up.

Certified Residential Contractor

A Florida licence category, issued through the Construction Industry Licensing Board, covering one, two, and three family residences and accessory use structures in connection with them. A deck falls inside that scope.

Impervious surface

A surface that prevents water soaking into the ground. The Gainesville land development code includes decks in its definition, which means a large deck can interact with lot coverage limits on a small parcel.

Karst

Landscape formed where water dissolves limestone bedrock, producing sinkholes and underground drainage. Alachua County records sinkholes as most common in the western and central county where limestone is exposed or covered by less than about twenty-five feet of permeable sand.

Subsidence

Ground sinking. Alachua County lists causes unrelated to sinkholes that matter directly to deck footings: decayed buried land-clearing debris, rotted stumps and large roots, and poor compaction around utility lines.

Screen kickplate

The solid panel at the base of a screen enclosure, below the mesh, where feet, pets, and mower debris hit it. Leaving it out is why the lower panels of an unprotected screen room fail first.

The framing guide puts most of these in context, the permits guide covers the regulatory ones, and the FAQ works through what homeowners here ask before signing.