Print  email 

When decks go bad

Time Bombs: Experts say even structures that look fine can hide potentially dangerous problems

CHESTER ALLEN; The Olympian | • Published June 27, 2009

• Comments (0)

Less than two months ago, a second-story deck collapsed in Westport, and 11 people ended up at the hospital. And those unlucky people were luckier than first appears.

Between 2000 and 2008, at least 30 people died – and hundreds were injured – in deck failures across the U.S., according to the North American Deck and Railing Association.

Think those numbers are scary?

Of the estimated 40 million decks in the United States, about 20 million of them are in disrepair or do not meet building codes. Many decks – even ones that look solid at first glance – are ticking time bombs.

“I get news from all over the country, and every week there are deck failures where people are injured,” said Don Bender, a professor of civil engineering and director of the Washington State University Wood Materials and Engineering Lab.

Bender, a national expert on deck design, construction and safety, said many homeowners build decks without an engineer-approved design – and they make a lot of construction mistakes to boot.

“The reality is that a lot of decks are built by people who are not qualified, and who don’t go through their local building department,” Bender said.

So, there is a 50-50 chance that your deck is unsafe. What should you do?

Everyone should inspect their deck or call in a professional to check things out, Bender said.

Kim Katwijk, owner of Olympia-based Deck Builders Inc. has a reputation across the Northwest and United States as a builder of strong, safe decks. He has written articles for professional journals, and his work has won national awards.

Katwijk recently inspected an older deck that overlooked a gorgeous Puget Sound beach. The deck looked a little weathered but still solid.

Then Katwijk took out a pocketknife and pushed the entire blade into a joist that supported the main decking. “Rot,” Katwijk said. “Rot is the kiss of death for a deck.”

Ledger

Here’s what Katwijk and Bender look for when inspecting a deck:

Just about every deck is connected to a house by a horizontal plank of wood called a ledger. The ledger is the deck’s link to the house, and too often it is the weak link of the deck.