Patent ID: 8087207

Claim:
A ledger board spacing system for exterior deck installations, said system comprising: a ledger board; a plurality of plastic spacers, each of said spacers including a first board engaging side and an opposite second board engaging side and including a predetermined size, shape, and thickness, and wherein said spacers do not include any portion attached thereto that extends beyond said first planar side or beyond said second planar side, wherein each of said spacers include a bolt opening adapted to receive a bolt therein and that does not include any threads able to threadably engage with any threads of said bolt and attachment means spaced apart from said bolt hole for attaching one of said plurality of spacers to said ledger board and for preventing said spacer from rotating with respect to said bolt opening; and a plurality of bolts, one each for slidable passage through a bolt hole of one of said plurality of spacers for partly supporting and connecting said ledger board on a structural member of a building structure; wherein when using said attachment means to attach a plurality of said spacers to said ledger board in a spaced apart relationship on or generally staggered across the longitudinal centerline of said ledger board, said bolts holes serve as pilot holes for drilling holes in both said ledger board and the structural member to which said ledger board is being attached, such that said bolt holes are accurately and reliably aligned with the holes in both the ledger board and the structural member, and wherein said plurality of spacers cannot move or rotate after attachment to said ledger board.