When was the last time you inspected your deck? If you are like most of us the answer is likely to be ‘never’. Sadly, thousands of people are injured every year due to poor construction practices and maintenance of decks. According to the North American Deck and Railing association “there are more than 40 million decks in the country that are more than 20 years old”. Age alone can render a deck unsafe so regular inspection is a good idea.

Over the course of my career, deck construction is frequently an issue discovered by home inspectors often revealing serious defects in design and installation . Decks are often considered a ‘do it yourself’ weekend project performed without permits and creating some serious flaws that can be life-threatening.

Download a free checklist for your deck here http://nadra.org/NADRA_DSM_Checklist.pdf

Before you have that next party or family BBQ you may want to have your deck inspected. If you want to do your own inspection you can download a handy form from http://nadra.org/Deck_Evaluation_Form.pdf or contact me for a referral to a qualified inspector or contractor.

A common mistake is to improperly attach the deck to the home.