Did you know that over 40% of decks may have structural issues that could lead to catastrophic failures? 

This week, Jamie talks about deck safety, a topic that’s often overlooked but carries serious risks. He breaks down the key components that keep a deck safe, including proper ledger board attachment, effective flashing to prevent moisture damage, and correctly sized joist hangers.

Listen for practical tips for homeowners: how to spot warning signs, what questions to ask during inspections, and when it’s time to call in a professional. 

Episode Highlights

• Why Deck Inspections Matter: Learn why over 40% of decks may have serious structural issues and how a proper inspection can prevent accidents.
• Key Components of a Safe Deck: Understand the importance of ledger boards, joist hangers, and flashing in keeping your deck structurally sound.
• Spotting Warning Signs Early: Tips for homeowners on identifying potential problems before they become costly or dangerous.
• When to Call a Professional: Guidance on knowing which issues you can handle yourself and when it’s time to hire an expert.

Welcome to Thoughts from the Crawl Space, a podcast where our goal as home inspection experts is to support and serve our community.

Whether you're a homeowner, home buyer, real estate agent, or investor, we believe everyone deserves solutions to their homeownership challenges and inspiration along the way. Your path to success starts here. Everybody has a favorite spot in their home. They like to hang out.

And for some people, you might like to hang out on your deck.

When I refer to a deck, I'm talking about generally a wooden structure that is on the side, the back, maybe even the front of your house if you're in a lake, usually elevated off the ground a good bit. And decks are important because while they're a great place to hang out, you feel like you're part of nature.

You got some of the amenities that you need, like table chairs, furniture, whatever. Decks can pose a serious risk to any homeowner. And so today we're going to talk about decks.

How to look at them, what to know about yours, what you want to look for to make sure you're not having problems with it that could lead to a catastrophic failure. Did you know over 40% of decks have a significant structural issue?

When we see a house with a deck, we show up, we start walking around and we see a deck, we know that that inspection is going to take us quite a bit longer because there are a lot of things to look for on a deck. If you have a multi level deck or stairs or just a unique arrangement to it, those add to the complication factors with it as well.

So while it's something to be concerned about, it's not something you want to stay awake thinking about. And so today we'll give you some tips on that. Some things we're looking for that are crucial to every structure on the deck.

And then just some tips you can take each year to minimize the possibility of a problem. So let's jump right in. First of all, when we look at a deck, we're looking for three primary things. Number one, how is it attached to the house?

Two, is there any flashing between the board and the house? And three, do they have joist hangers? So let's start with number one, the ledger board attachment. If a deck is going to fail.

And by fail, we mean fall.

And if you have a deck that's 8ft off the ground and it falls, that's a significant problem that leads to death, injury, fear, you name it, it's going to be a problem. So ledger board, Ledger board is the board on the deck that attaches to the house. Now, there's a couple of ways this can be done.

There's really only one way it should be done. And what should be done is it should have a direct attachment to the house. It should not be attached over siding.

If we see a deck that is bolted to the house or nailed to the house over the top of especially vinyl siding, we know that was not done by a professional or at least someone that knew what they were doing.

And so you want the ledger board to be have no gap between the structure of the house, which would likely be the OSB sheeting on it, and the ledger board. In other words, we don't want anything in between there. We want a tight fit. A deck should have a ledger board that is bolted to the house.

Now, these are codes that have come into various jurisdictions in recent years. Some still allow nailing, some might only have structural screws, that kind of thing. But we don't really necessarily go by codes, we go by safety.

And we think that if you have properly sized bolts on your deck ledger board, you are going to have a much better chance of having a safe environment out there, no matter how many people climb on the deck. Right. So first thing on a ledger board, One, how is it in contact with the house? Number two, what kind of bolts have they used on it?

At the very least, they should alternate having a bolt between high on the ledger board and low on the ledger board and at least every other joist bay. And that's a way to ensure you got proper strength along the span of it.

What we don't want to see is bolts at the same exact height between each joist bay. Because what that can do over time is crack that ledger board.

You know what happens if you put a bolt or even a nail sometimes in wood that just can't handle that, it will eventually crack it and create a problem and split the board in half. So in a ledger board, again, ledger ledger board, we want that thing tight against the house and bolted. Number one thing.

Number two thing we like to see is flashing. Now, flashing is kind of a mysterious term for some folks, but in this case, flashing on a deck is simple.

We already talked about the ledger board needs to be tight against the house, but water can still seep in there. Water can get into about anything over time.

Wind driven rain time, it'll create a problem and then you're potentially deteriorating the board behind the ledger board, which will create bad connections which can also lead to debt collapse. So the flashing should be behind the building paper that you have on the house.

So you're going to put the flashing, then the building paper and then the siding and the flashing is going to come down, it's going to go over, it's going to bend and go over the top of the ledger board. And sometimes they'll even bend it again to go down the front of the ledger board just a little bit.

Either way, you are preventing water from getting behind the connection of the ledger board to the house. That's the primary reason you're going to put that flashing on there.

And so when we look at a deck, when we're inspecting it, we're looking for the connection to the house, the bolts, and do we see any evidence that there's flashing behind that ledger board and over it? You should see a little bit of it sticking out if they've done it correctly.

So sometimes contractors will just take and put aluminum flashing just directly behind the ledger board, which kind of defeats the purpose because you're still going to have a potential area for water to get down in there. You're not shedding the water over the ledger board, you're allowing it to get behind it. So that's.

That's thing two thing three on decks that is crucial among other things. But one of the basics is, is joist hangers.

Joist hangers are those little metal brackets kind of U shaped and you sit the joist down in it and it has two purposes. One is supports the load of the joist vertically and two, it helps prevent the joist from twisting sideways.

And those are obviously crucial to create the strength you need on your deck. So three things we're looking for on joist hangers. Number one, is it the right size?

If you have a 2x8 or a 2x10 joist, you need to have a joist hanger that matches that. What we don't want to see is a 2x8 or even 2x10 joist and they use the 2x6 or a hanger designed for a 2x4. It's just not right.

It doesn't create as much strength as it should. So you want to have the right size and then you want to have the right nails on joist hangers.

You need hardened joist hanger nails and those are specialty nails that you'll find at wherever you can buy joist hangers or parts for decks. Don't want to just use roofing nails. You don't want to use screws. You want to use hardened joist hanger nails.

And the reason for that is that Helps prevent shearing. All right. Screws are great for pull out strength, but they also shear pretty easy and regular nails.

One thing we used to use a lot of times on joist hangers was roofing nails. They go in easy, they're relatively short, but those don't have the same pullout strength that a hardened joist hanger nail.

So that's the kind of thing you're looking for on that. So just review joist hangers.

And corrosion on any kind of hanger is bad. So that's been. Chemicals have changed and we don't have quite that problem anymore with it. But it's certainly something we're always looking for.

Now, in addition to the main three, so let's just review the ledger board attachment flashing and joist hangers. Those are some of the basics of the deck. We want to see that the stairs are connected, right? As the stairs go up, are they.

Do they have a flat surface to lean onto, or are they just hanging there with some hangers and just waiting for someone to haul a, you know, heavy object up there, a piano or a gun safe or something, and all of a sudden, boom, down it goes. So all those things come into play. And then how far have they spanned the joists before they put support? Do they have the right kind of support?

Was this done by professionals? Do they have post to beam connections?

When you have posts and you have a beam going across, modern codes call for that beam to be on top of that post and not attached to the side. You'll see a lot of older decks will have a beam kind of split, so to speak.

You'll have one on one side of the post and one on the other side of the post connected by carriage bolts. And that's just not a proper way to do it anymore. When you do that, all your strength is basically being supported. All your strength is created.

Rather, the deck is being supported solely by a couple of bolts. And if those corrode, then you got a big problem.

And so the beam going across out at the front edge of the deck should be set on top of the posts so that you have maximum support. And then you should have proper brackets at that post to beam connection.

There are some jurisdictions that will allow you to cut into the joist or to post and allow you to inset the post on it. And that makes for a strong connect or inset the beam, excuse me, on it, which helps you create a more secure connection.

And as well, if the deck's over a certain size, you like to see diagonal support. This helps so that you don't get on your deck and just start shaking it and it just racks back and forth. Diagonal support helps to prevent that.

So that's another thing we're looking at. And then just the overall fasteners, how did they fasten the flooring to the deck? Are they nails?

Nails tend to pop back up through frost heave thawing and melting and things like that. So what kind of fasteners did they use? Also the deck boards themselves.

We have found that if you use those outdoor carpets on deck, on wood, they tend to rot quicker because it holds moisture on it for longer. And so you want to look at all those factors as you analyze your deck and see what condition it is in.

And of course, the railing, especially if you have a deck that's 30 inches or more above grade, you need to have a proper guardrail. And guardrails need to be between 36 and 40 inches tall. And not the oldest tile that were 30 or even 28, we've seen.

Those are almost more trip hazards than guardrails. So we're looking for guardrails that are 30 inches tall or higher. Excuse me, 36 inches tall or higher.

And then spindles that provide that protection from falling out should be no more than 4 inches apart. And so those are some of the building codes we look at when we're looking at a deck to make sure that it's been built right.

So you got your three basics, of course, you got your guardrail and things like that. Now, why all the fuss over a deck? You know, we're just out there, we're eating dinner on it, we're watching the sunset, whatever.

Well, think of any other room in the house and think potentially, how many people could you get in that room? And will the support structure support that load?

And in most cases in the house, yes, that's the case when you get on a deck, especially larger decks that are generally what, designed for having a fun time on a party, watching a game, whatever. And you get 20, 30 people on a deck and moving around, maybe they're dancing, whatever. That puts an extreme load on all that wood structure.

And it basically boils down to what is holding this deck up. And if your deck is connected to the house. Essentially the only thing holding that entire deck up is a few bolts.

Or if they didn't use bolts, it'd just be nails. And so that's where we run into the problem.

When we at Gold Key have to inspect a deck, we almost have to imagine a worst case scenario of load wise on this deck. And that's how we're at how we do it.

It's maybe not the most popular way to do it, but it's the one when we're looking out for your interest on this house and the safety factors involved. That's what we're looking for. So a railing, it doesn't just have to be a certain height, it doesn't just have to have spindles.

Any eight foot span needs to have a post in the middle of it. So you can't just have a bunch of spindles all the way around maybe or even on the corners. Especially if your deck has a wider span than eight feet.

You got to have a post to break up that Spanish. A railing needs to have a strength of potentially resisting 200 pounds of pressure against the railing.

You think of an average sized man is probably close to £200. Imagine them running into this railing. Is that going to support that person and not let them fall over? Really something to think about.

If you have decks that are really high up or have hard surfaces below them, what kind of shape is your railing in? Obviously the spindles are going to be more for children so they don't stick their head through there and try to climb over it.

But for adults that maybe are intoxicated or reckless, we need to have railings to protect them from themselves too, unfortunately. But why this matters? Well, what are some of the cost implications on decks?

You know, I don't know if you've been to a store recently to price out the property, the specs on a deck, how much it costs, whether you're just doing the decking part themselves or the structure. But it's pretty sticker shock is real on decks.

And so what we want to want you to do when we do a home inspection, one, we're looking for safety issues, but two, we want to let you know, hey, here's some stuff to get a contractor to look at.

If this is something you want to use as part of your enjoyment of this home, have a contractor look at it and tell you what he would charge to upgrade this deck a little bit. And I mean it can be $500, it can be 15, $20,000 if you go for total deck reconstruction. And so you just need to know what you're getting into.

And that's the ultimate goal of what we're doing out there. Now how do you, in a real estate transaction, how do we be fair to the seller and the buyer? Well, our client in most cases is the buyer.

That's our number one priority and who we're inspecting for. However, we have to be fair to the seller and we do that by just telling the truth. And here's what you got.

This deck was built 20 years ago, for example. Some things were done then that would not be permitted. Now this deck is showing some signs of wear.

We have fasteners pulling apart, we have wood splitting, we have some joists that are rotted out, we have decking that is warped, we have fasteners that are raised. Typical stuff you're going to see on a deck that's 20 years old, especially if it faces the west or the south where it gets a lot of sun.

And so we just have to tell the truth in a non alarmist way while being detailed and inform what we believe about it. So that's kind of the mindset of going in when we're looking at a deck. So what are some tips for homeowners, some regular checks that you can do.

Any protruding nails, split boards or wobbly railings.

I've noticed lately on the deck that I built now probably about 20 years ago, is that we have some handrails or guardrails along the top are starting to pull apart. They were with cedar wood, but over 20 years of facing wind and rain and sun, things are just starting to go. And so give a little inspection.

If you're a homeowner out there and you have a deck and haven't really looked at it much, haven't thought about it too much, look for signs of splitting, rot, railings getting loose. You don't want any nails or screws popping up on the floor because that can obviously hurt bare feet. And then is this worth refinishing?

Is it worth it to, you know, power wash it, restain it or do I need to replace some boards? In the case of the deck that is at my house that's going to be. We have boards to replace. I keep putting it off.

I know where the spots are on the deck where not to walk because potentially you're going to go through, but you don't want to do that. Even the, the, the Trex, that's one of the brand names of the synthetic decking, they tend to last longer, but they still have problems.

They Will still warp. And if you have joists that are too far apart, like two feet, they will sag in between a joist and kind of create an unsightly appearance.

So you really want to go out there and. And look for, like. For stuff like that staining.

One thing we noted on our deck is the staining on it came from a gutter above that had a leak at the end of the gutter, and it was just drip, drip, drip, drip every time it rained. Well, over time, that drilled a hole clear in the wood.

So look for any kinds of water that's splashing onto the deck that would create an unhealthy situation or an unsightly appearance. So you want to know when to call a pro.

If all your deck it needs is a little maintenance, set some screws, maybe even you feel comfortable replacing a board, staining it, go ahead and do that.

But if you get into the structural aspects of it, if you're concerned about how it's connected to the house, I would highly encourage you to go ahead and get a professional out to take a look at it. We highly recommend someone that has experience in decks, not just a structure, you know, a general contractor.

They tend to have a general knowledge of a lot of things, but there's constantly new codes on decks, and it's just such an important part of your house if you have that. Now, here's a way to.

We mentioned the ledger board, but one note on that is if you have a deck that is supported outside of the home, in other words, you have posts at all four corners supporting the deck. Awesome. You can put it right next to the house. It looks like it would be a normal deck, only you have support posts up against the house.

And that's the way to do it without relying on that ledger board attachment to the house. In my opinion, a much better way to install a deck. And then many cases, you don't even need flashing because it's not actually touching the house.

Maybe you'll put a bolt or two to attach it to the the house just to keep it from moving. But in most cases, you don't even need to do that. So get educated on these decks. Know when to call a pro.

We want you to enjoy that part of your house. We also want you to be safe on it. Oh, and one little tip. Hot tubs on the deck are never a great idea.

If you do decide you want a hot tub, one of those big jacuzzis on a deck, you're going to need probably engineering approval on a support system underneath that. The time you get the tub full of water and people in it.

In some cases you're looking at a couple of tons on that and normal deck structures will not hold that. So just keep that in mind.

I saw in Tennessee has those famous cabins around Gatlinburg up in the mountains and so forth and they're awesome place to go to.

But I also noticed they did have a deck failure because of a jacuzzi that was on that deck and so it just wasn't supported properly and potentially can injure a lot of people in a hurry. So have a professional look at it. We'd be glad to look at it, come out and inspect it.

If you're concerned about your deck, give Gold Key a call and we come out there and give you peace of mind that what you're standing and sitting on is in good condition or that it needs some repairs. We'll see you next time. Thank you for listening.

This week you can catch up on the latest episode of the Thoughts from the Crawl Space podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. For more information about Gold Key inspection services, go to goldkeyinspect.com.