Deck Collapses injuring 24 including a 94 year old.

They really need to get the news out there that at lot of the old decks were built really bad back in the day. The standards were low and a lot of low bid hacks did them too. Some of the photo’s I have seen are pretty scary 🙁 It’s not an issue when the deck isn’t far off the ground, but its an issue when you have some elevation to the deck.

http://gawker.com/deck-collapses-under-family-posing-for-fourth-of-july-p-1715896370?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

wood and nails will only take so much…….10 feet off the ground lets through 25 people on this rotten deck? what could go wrong?

I like it when I find the ledger board just nailed to the house and the home owner wonders why it is pulling away from the house. Then for the most part it was never flashed and the sheathing is rotting and the only way to fix it right is to take it down and start over. Then they ask “can’t you just nail it back in place” That’s when I just want to say ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

People don’t want to hear a big expensive bill. They think a complicated problem is actually simple like you said just pound a few more nails in. The standards on Decks in the 80’s were really bad 4×4 posts some don’t even have footings. Stuff notched out to hell no hangers just a huge royal mess. They were only meant to last like 10 years if that. Now they are pushing 30.

regopit wrote:

I like it when I find the ledger board just nailed to the house and the home owner wonders why it is pulling away from the house. Then for the most part it was never flashed and the sheathing is rotting and the only way to fix it right is to take it down and start over. Then they ask “can’t you just nail it back in place” That’s when I just want to say ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whenever I get a side job, I always get these people.