May is Deck Safety Month - Check Your Deck!

comments (7) April 26th, 2012 in Blogs

Mike Guertin, editorial advisor

15 year old deck looks fine from afar, but closer inspection reveals numerous safety issues.

Photo: (c) Mike Guertin

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May is 'Deck Safety Month'. Last month when clocks shifted to daylight savings time you changed out the batteries in your smoke detectors (right?) so this month it's time to check – your – deck. Decks on the verge of falling down generally don't look any different than safe decks. You have to take a close look in order to see if problems exist. And don't take deck safety lightly; injuries sustained from a deck collapse can range from scraps and bruises to loss of limb or life.

Your deck may seem solid and secure until one day it falls off the house. Deck collapses are more common than you may think. In early April five people were injured in a New Jersey deck collapse. In mid-April another deck failure near Syracuse, NY hospitalized five and injured several others. Even my tiny state of Rhode Island had a deck collapse the week before last from a condo injuring two. And I'd guess that many near-trageties go unreported.

I inspected a 15 year old deck in March. From 30 ft. away it looked fine but when I got closer it was easy to see numerous deficiencies and outright negligent workmanship (see photos). The deck could hang on the house for another 15 years without failing – or it could fall down tomorrow. If the deck was 1 ft. or 2 ft. off the ground it would have been less of a concern but this one is about 10 ft. high.

It's amazing how many decks fail each year. According to NADRA (North American Deck & Railing Association), between 2000 and 2008, there were 30 reported deaths resulting from deck failures. And many thousands of people landed in emergency rooms due to deck, railing or deck stair failures annually.

The warm spring has many of us enjoying our decks earlier than usual. Before we get too deep into the spring and summer, take 30 minutes to inspect your deck.

For further information on conducting a deck inspection yourself, check out this interactive deck safety graphic.

There are dozens of individual inspection points on a deck and some aren't easy to see. If you are concerned, have a contactor who specializes in decks do the inspection. Contractor members of NADRA generally follow a deck evaluation checklist developed by the organization. And NADRAs consumer checklist describes both deck inspection points and general deck safety considerations.

posted in: Blogs, deck collapse, deck safety, Deck inspection

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Comments (7)

larsonbrent writes: Find out what things you need to consider when you are shopping for the best laptop hard drive for your computer
Posted: 11:21 pm on May 11th

larsonbrent writes: Things to consider when shopping for the best hard disk drives
If you are shopping for the best laptop hard drive, you're going to have your work cut out for you, especially buy laptop hard drive online. Finding a reliable hard drive to purchase is not going to be as easy as 123. You may have to spend some time looking around on the Internet and doing some comparison shopping so that you can find a hard disk for sale that will satisfy your expectations and meet your needs as well, before you make a determine you can just know about the laptop hard drive cost in the field. Using a laptop means that you're going to need enough space to store your files, install your software and do everything that you want to do on the computer. There a lot of things to consider when you purchase a new hard drive for your laptop. Below, you will find with some of these things are and why it's important to shop around for hard disk drives for sale so that you can find the precise laptop hard drive that you want to buy.

1,Look for a hard disk drive that has enough space to meet your needs
Knowing how much space you need on your hard drive can be a difficult thing. Often times, people don't think they need much space but then they come to realize that they needed more than they originally thought. For instance, some people think that they just need to purchase a hard drive that is going to cover their files. For instance, if they have about 10 gigabytes of files, they may purchase just a 20 to 40 gigabyte hard drive. The problem with this is that you are not accounting for the operating system. If you plan to run an operating system like Linux or Windows on the computer, then you need to purchase a hard drive that has enough space to properly run the operating system and store your files. There are other things to keep in mind as well, for instance, what software are you going to be putting on the computer? Software can take up a lot of space on a computer, especially games and software that is very complex. These types of software titles can get up into several gigabytes of space, so you need to have a big enough hard drive to accommodate for these applications.

2,Remember that it's okay to go over what you need but it's not okay to go under
Of course, you can easily see there are so many laptop hard drive for sale online, when purchasing a hard drive, it's okay to purchase more gigabytes than you actually need, just like me, I love installing lots of games, so I bought a big sony laptop hard drive in advance. However, if you were to purchase less gigabytes than you actually need, this is not going to be okay because you won't be able to do the things that you want to do on your computer. Be sure to shoot for more disk space. Keep in mind that installing a hard drive on a laptop can be more complicated than installing a hard drive on a desktop computer. You also need to accommodate for the installation costs when you're going to have a company install this for you. Look online and do some comparison shopping so that you can find the best laptop hard drive for a price that makes sense for your budget.

Need more info about laptop hard drives or purchasing, please go harddrivestore.org

Thank you, useful.
Thank you, useful
But to be frank, it doesn't tell in detail what should we do to choose a best one, agree?
I don't think it's good to buy a new hard dirve, why not change the laptop? Lol.
Posted: 11:21 pm on May 11th

larsonbrent writes: Find out what to look for when you are shopping for a hard drive
Posted: 11:30 pm on May 9th

larsonbrent writes: What to Look for in a Hard Drive That You Are Purchasing?
When you are going to buy laptop hard drive, it is extremely important to look for one that is going to be fast and large enough to accommodate all of your files and data needs. It
Yeah, it's just what I need, I'm about to have a new one
I always use Dell Hard Disk Drives, what about you, guys?
Gateway!!!lol
Posted: 11:30 pm on May 9th

deckingperth writes: I agree with milwaukee that instead of fixing old deck you should replace it with new but you should also be aware when to replace old one.
Posted: 5:52 am on June 26th

MikeGuertin writes: I agree with Milwaukee that in some instances it is better to replace a deck that has many problems than to repair it. I did a quick cost analysis on this project and determined we can make effective repairs that will make this deck as secure as a newly built one.
In a couple weeks we're going to fix the deck. I figure it will take me 3 days and about $200 in materials.

Here's a list of the major work items:
1 Add a second layer to the outer rim joist to make it an effective rim beam.
2 Install 4x4 posts beneath the rim beam.
3 Replace the joist hangers (since there aren't many nails in the current hangers - that will be fast work)
4 Secure the ledger with additional structural screws.
5 Install hardware to secure the stringers to the head board.
6 Install 2x4 jacks beneath the stringer head board
7 Install self-adhering membrane over the wall sheathing and the ledger - then cap it with a substantial drip cap flashing.
8 Check the footings for depth and size.
9 Install two lateral load tension tie assemblies to tie the deck joists to the house joists.

It sounds like a lot but several items can go fast.

There are other factors that tip the scale towards repair in this case. Every situation needs to be evaluated on the conditions at hand.

Posted: 9:56 am on May 3rd

milwaukee writes: This deck makes me sick. It should NOT be fixed but destroyed. i build the best decks humanly possible and it pains me when people think they can FIX a deck like the ones in the above photos. If money is a concern about ripping it down to rebuild it, then just rip it down so no one dies, and when money is available hire Mike and build it better.

peace.
Posted: 6:15 am on May 2nd

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