When it comes to the components that make up a home, the deck seems to be the least thought about component in ensuring the safety and condition when it comes to buying a home. A deck inspection should be conducted when buying a home or if you are a home owner, to have your deck inspected yearly.
To ensure your deck is safe and properly built, our home inspector inspect the following areas of your deck:
1. Ledger Connections. Older decks in particular are susceptible to pulling away from the home if this connection was installed incorrectly or has corroded. Our inspector will check to see if the deck is connecting to a wood rim joist or concrete/CMU, not brick or masonry veneer and that flashing is also installed above the ledge and behind the exterior cladding.
2. Posts and Footings. Our inspector will look to see if the footings should be sunk at least 12 inches into undisturbed ground and check for signs of decay, corrosion, or other weakening.
3. Post to Beam Connection. Our inspector will determine if the connection has been bent or modified, which can cause fractures and should be replaced. Also ensure that girders aren’t positioned alongside the posts and connected with a metal fastener (bolt or lag screw) providing the bearing. This is prohibited due to the chances of failure.
4. Joists and Connections. Our inspector will look for 1½ inch of bearing, as required by code. Nails in ledger strips are subject to withdrawal, and are prohibited by the code and also look for any modifications to the connections and any signs of corrosion.
5. Stairs. Our inspector will check that the triangular opening formed by the riser, tread, and guard bottom is less than 6 inches and also look for corrosion on connections and ensure all are in place and secure.
6. Deck Boards. Our inspector will look to see if the fasteners are tight and recessed, if composite or PVC deck boards are used and check that the spacing meets manufacturers’ guidelines.
7. Railings. Our inspector will measure railings to be sure they are at least 36 inches tall and ideally 42 inches tall, see what type of shear connection exists between the post and frame and check that the opening is less than 4 inches between the balusters on the deck and less than 4 3/8 inches on the stairs.
8. Other Areas. Our inspector will also check that all fasteners still have their finish, all connector holes are properly filled, all bolts have washers on the wood side of the connection, etc.
All of our inspections will include a detailed report along with pictures of their findings and will be available to the customer in 24 hours of the inspection.