Expert urges care in using raised decks

If you are in the market for a home that includes a raised deck, or have already been living with one and are wondering if its secure, get a professional inspector to check the structure.

And if youre going to be socializing on a deck thats significantly above ground level, you may want to consider whether the people-bearing platform to be used is safe, a Halifax home inspector said Wednesday.

Darren Smith said the easiest and cheapest way to check into deck safety is to go online, and type these words in a search engine: proper raised-deck construction practices.

Most local building inspectors can probably be hired for a site-specific deck check for a fee that should cost less than a full home inspection, he said.

THE PROVINCIAL BUILDING CODE

This is the way to go, because there really is no way for the average homeowner to know about troublesome elements of raised-deck construction that could lead to collapse and user injury, Smith said.

If I had a rental property with tenants in it and it had a raised balcony deck, I would definitely be hiring someone to go look at it.

He said lots of raised decks perhaps as many as half his firm looks at are not attached to the house properly. Part of the reason is the building code was changed several years ago, so older decks (which didnt used to have to be bolted or screwed to the house) are not fastened correctly.

But they dont all obviously come down. There has to be the right mix, like if theres water leaking in at just the right spot and its starting to rot the structure, Smith said.

He said he and his colleagues never take deck construction for granted.

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Expert urges care in using raised decks