I'm planning on building a small (4'x4')deck off my breakfast nook so I can access the back yard without going through the basement. The house is built over the garage, so the deck level will be about 8' off the ground. I have a couple of questions that hopefully folks can answer:

1) the deck will be built in an "L" where the house bumps out about 8'. Can I use 2 ledgers and one post, that is, support the joists on one ledger, and use the other ledger as both the rim joist on the bump-out side, and the support for the beam (attaching the beam using a double-wide joist hanger like Simpson HUSC). That way I only need to install one post, to hold up the other side of the beam.

2) What is the minimum landing size if I want a door that swings out? I'd like to make the deck as small as possible (basically, just a landing for stairs), but it will make the interior space more usable if the door swings out rather than in. If it matters, the stairs will run perpendicular to where the door will be (that is, when exiting you will have to turn left to go down the stairs.