October 7, 2008
- Eugene, Oregon
Watch out for signs of a failing deck
By Herb Weisbaum
Most deck failures don't make the news. But every year hundreds of decks collapse across the country.
I went looking for potentially dangerous decks and had no trouble finding them. In the past ten years more than 800 people have been injured and 20 people have been killed in deck collapses. These tragedies took place in Atlanta, Denver, Salt Lake City and right here in Seattle. When a deck comes down, you don't want to be around. Four years ago during a family party, a second-story deck collapsed at a house in University Place. Seven people were injured and one died. "At one moment it was as good as it gets, and the next moment everything changes," said Paul Jackson, deck collapse victim. It's estimated that about half of the decks in the country need to be repaired or replaced. They have posts that are nailed into place when they should be attached with nuts, bolts and washers. Or they have rusty nails that can snap without warning. We went to the Innis Arden neighborhood with Hugh Kelso, president of HKI Incorporated, to do a few spot inspections. Kelso checked four decks and found problems with three of them. Two of the decks had begun to rot and, as a result, its walls had become wobbly to the touch instead of standing firm and rigid as they should. Another deck, Kelso found, did not have adequate support. "In an earthquake movement, this (the beam) could pull up. Now you're just relying on a couple of little toe nails," he said. Most of the problems we found could be fixed with the addition of some simple hardware. Simpson Strong Tie, a company that makes wood fasteners, was in Seattle this weekend demonstrating the dangers of faulty decks. "The most common failure is the ledger pulling away from the house. People think they can use nails. You cannot use nails. You've got to use screws. Screws are threaded. They make that connection stronger," said Lance Doalson with Simpson Strong-Tie. Remember, the average wood deck is made to last about 15 years, but only with proper inspection and maintenance. There are five warning signs to look for: loose connections, missing connections, corrosion, rots and cracks. More Information: Build a Strong, Safe Deck Deck Inspections: A Matter of Life and Death |
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