Is Your Deck in Danger of Collapsing?
An estimated 20 million wood decks in the United States are, reports KOIN TV news. The news station recently interviewed Rick’s store manager C.T. Warren, who provided his deck construction expertise and offered deck safety tips for homeowners.Deck collapses have injured 900 people in the last 15 years, killing 20, the report stated. Reporter Mike Donahue cautioned homeowners, “Don’t live with a deck that moves.”Deck collapses aren’t merely caused by too much weight. Dry rot and lack of proper support can also cause a cedar deck to become unstable, Warren said in the interview.“If you can walk out on your deck and (shift your weight) and get it moving, then you need to have somebody come out and take a look and see what’s going on,” he said. Some additional things to keep in mind when assessing your cedar deck safety:
– Supporting posts should be held together with lag bolts, not nails.
– Check for dry rot, especially in places where fasteners enter a post or where two pieces of wood overlap.
– If deck your moves when you test for stability, it may need bracing – or, if it’s over 25 years old, it may need to be replaced.
