Is your deck SAFE??? These simple inspection tips will help insure your deck is safe.

December 12, 2017 admin

Decks can cause serious injury if not built correctly. These simple inspection tips will help insure your family and friends are safe on your homes deck.

– Be sure to Inspect your deck annually for any damaged or decaying wood. Make a point to inspect the main super structure thoroughly. Use a screw driver to jab into post ends and joist ends to make sure they are solid. If the screw driver sinks into the wood more then a 1/4 inch its probably time to replace that piece.

– Pay attention to the type and size of the hardware used to fasten all the post connections. We recommend using at a minimum two 1/2″ THROUGH bolts with large washers on both sides at all post beam and guardrail post connections. Carriage Bolts are not recommended, when tightened to tight the small head can damage the wood and reduce its strength. Also, if the wood shrinks around the carriage bolt it is difficult to tighten or remove them.

– The connection to the house is very important. It is recommend that the ledger board be secured with galvanized bolts that are staggered high and low every 16 – 24 inches apart. If the bolts are severely rusted the wrong type of bolt was used and we recommend replacing them. Quite often we find ledger boards attached directly to the siding. Doing this can cause water entry and concealed damage. The correct method is to attach directly to the structure with the appropriate fasteners then flash with Z flashing to allow water to flow away from the house over the ledger board.

– Lastly inspect the guard rails and handrails thoroughly. A guardrail should be able to withstand 200 lbs of lateral force. Since we most likely wont apply 200lbs of pressure to the rail, inspectors will wobble them to estimate whether they can handle this type of force. If the rail wobbles significantly check all the post connections for proper support and tighten bolts if possible or repair. Also make sure that the spacing between balusters is 4″ or less so our little ones can’t stick their heads or entire body through the railing. HORIZONTAL BALUSTERS ARE NEVER RECOMMENDED. It is simply a ladder for children to climb.