Beam question
Ive built a few deck beams by notching both sides of 6x6 posts and setting 2x10s in each notch to make the beam. I fasten them to the posts on both sides with (2) 5"x 5/16" spax powerlags on each side so they run through the posts and 1 inch into the opposite board.
Then I add blocking to make the two separate boards act as one single beam (I stack 9" long 2x6 and 5/4 deck boards to make 9"x5.5"× 2.5" blocks) I install them every 2 to 2.5' and run (2) powerlags through the blocks. Is this sufficient for my beams? Posts are no more than 8' across, so the spans are short. Most around 7' apart.
Joists will be/are 2x8s at 12" oc and sit up on top of the beams. We put blocking at center of their span and a rim on the ends.
We paint bottom 2-4' on all four sides of the posts(not the end grain on the bottom),the beam tops and post tops with sealant type paint and use joist tape on the joist tops.
Does this seem like a good process? I like the double notched post instead of one large notch. Seems more stable to me for some reason. And I feel like it let's the beam dry out faster when it gets wet as opposed to water getting stuck between typical doubled up boards. Any thoughts? Should I go back to one large notch on the next one?