-
Welcome to The Building Code Forum
Your premier resource for building code knowledge.
This forum remains free to the public thanks to the generous support of our Sawhorse Members and Corporate Sponsors. Their contributions help keep this community thriving and accessible.
Want enhanced access to expert discussions and exclusive features? Learn more about the benefits here.
Ready to upgrade? Log in and upgrade now.
Weak Deck
- Thread starter jar546
- Start date
Talk about the last straw...
TheCommish
SAWHORSE
Concrated Overloaded
Yankee Chronicler
SAWHORSE
The problem wasn't a weak deck, it was a weak head ...
Sifu
SAWHORSE
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2011
- Messages
- 3,471
In a house I just bought, I was having 3/4" hardwood installed. They staged at least 2,000lb of material on the rear deck. The deck was enclosed underneath with more stone veneer so I couldn't see the conditions of support. I commented I was worried about the load, the workers said "it will be fine" and jumped up and down and "see, it's solid". I got the load moved pretty quickly. Fast forward 3 weeks, I finally got the wall under the deck open. Glad I moved the load. Improper ledger attachment, actually can't see the connections, on the surface of brick veneer with no intermediate column support, improper joist support, concentrated load from double joists supporting an exterior stone veneer fireplace surround. And those are just the problems with the gravity load. Frankly surprised it survived. Deck repair/replacement on the horizon!
Rant...a little of topic but....
The fireplace is a wood burning unit, on a framed in and covered wood deck and roof. No hearth extension unless you count the 5/4 decking. I had a company come out to see about converting it to gas logs. In our conversation I asked if they would secure the permit. They said they didn't need a permit. I asked him if he knew why whoever did this thought it was a good idea to put a wood burning fireplace on a combustible floor with no hearth extension over a completely enclosed crawlspace blocking several house foundation vents on a deck that violates almost every prescriptive code in the book.. He said no. I said it was because they weren't required to get effing permits.
Rant...a little of topic but....
The fireplace is a wood burning unit, on a framed in and covered wood deck and roof. No hearth extension unless you count the 5/4 decking. I had a company come out to see about converting it to gas logs. In our conversation I asked if they would secure the permit. They said they didn't need a permit. I asked him if he knew why whoever did this thought it was a good idea to put a wood burning fireplace on a combustible floor with no hearth extension over a completely enclosed crawlspace blocking several house foundation vents on a deck that violates almost every prescriptive code in the book.. He said no. I said it was because they weren't required to get effing permits.
Inspector Gadget
REGISTERED
Reason #267 why Canadian decks require 6x6 posts. We got this white crap that falls from the sky and hangs around for a while.... and that white crap can get kinda heavy, esp. if it rains a bit ....
redeyedfly
REGISTERED
I've never seen a deck collapse because the columns were too slender and buckled. They always fail at the ledger or connections.