Design62713:
The biggest problem is making the connection at the base of the post, and any cobbled together post will only complicate that part of the design. Every contractor or homeowner has or comes up with some crazy ideas to save a penny and cost dollars. With experience, you get quick on your feet and can shoot these down with a simple explanation, and not hurt too many feelings. Some of these things are just not worth wasting your time on, and you have to be quick to bring this to the fore. Don’t forget to mention that you expect to be paid for your wasted time, over and above, the normal structural design; and $100 of your time and effort does not match up well with a $4/post savings in material, unless they are willing to pay you extra for this effort.
However, if you are a designer and don’t know how to do this structural design to meet the current codes and standards, maybe you shouldn’t be doing this type of design. A good source on residential deck design is AFPA’s, Design for Code Acceptance #6, “Prescriptive Residential Wood Deck Construction Guide,” based on the 2009 IRC.