Deck Failures

Joe, you would think they could have used timberloc screws at best. ha. ha. :slight_smile:

Was that a CMU wall it was attached to?
On some other pictures you supplied I can see different fastners. They must have used whatever was available at the time, no.

Marcel :slight_smile:

Absolutely not, decks should be attached with 3/8"X3" lags, two in every other bay, or through bolted for new construction.

If I had to guess, I would say that decks are second to electrical issues in my area.

I should also note that Tap cons are acceptable when attaching to concrete, but in this case I like to see additional support where the deck meets the building.

Peter, I meant that to be a joke. Sorry.

And you are right with the fastners. This has to be a Harry job. ha. ha.

Marcel :slight_smile:

Different screw types. Different hangers and nails. Just whatever he had in his pocket, I guess. The foundation was CMU, with a sill plate/band sill on top of the wall…that’s what the deck was fastened to. Sheathing between the deck and band sill was also decayed (in addition to the band sill and a girder in one area)…the flashing was obviously wrong and not doing its job.

Marcel, sorry, I was referring to Joe’s quote, not yours:)

I hope you feel privileged!!! That is the first smiley I have used since joining NACH in 2004.

I guess I should use them more often, especially now that I know how to do it, I’m sure some of my chapter members will appreciate it. :smiley:

WOW…ya must be gettin soft in your old age, Pete!!!:shock::shock:

Good use of the leftover roofing nails. :wink:

Fortunatly no one was seriously hurt.
There could have been some hurt badly.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2sXY6u1liJ4

… Cookie

A good post by a NACHI member . Thanks Harold

To see the pictures go to

http://activerain.com/blogsview/250191/Deck-attachment-defects-by

**Most people do not know that their decks are improperly attached, when I find the defect during a home inspection. They assume that since they bought the house new, the code compliance officer should have made sure the builder installed it right. Seems logical, but the reality is that many details like this escape code officials every day. **
What defects on deck installation do I find?

  • **Missing lag bolts. These secure the deck ledger board to the structure of the home. In their absence only nails are holding the deck up at the intersection with the house. Lag bolts provide both shear support as well and resistance against lateral movement. Conventional nails have poor resistance against lateral pull out. **
  • **Missing ledger board flashings or insufficient drainage plane. The absence of flashings allows water to enter the intersection between the decks’ ledger board and the home. Homes with wood, OSB or hardboard sidings are at risk of developing fungal wood rot decay, and other wood destroying organism activities. Such damage compromises this critical connection point and deck collapse is possible. **

**In the photo above you can see that there is no flashings, no lag bolts and water stains can be observed on the interior drywall above the windows. **

**In this photo it is obvious that someone thought about flashings after the fact. They tried to just slide it under the siding, but water was still getting in. **

**How much was saved by not installing the flashing when it was built? Not much. How much will it cost to repair? Alot more than was saved. The entire deck has to come off, siding needs to be removed, then the real work of repairing the compromised structure of the home starts. I am guesssing tens of thousands, but we will leave that to the contractors to decide. **
Check your deck. If it is not flashed and bolted, then you should seek some professional help to repair it before it gets as bad as the one above. It took only five years for the example to get this bad, some take much longer.

www.millerhomeinspect.com

Posted by Harold Miller on 10/25/2007 01:20 PM Comments (2)

… Cookie