With May being Deck Safety Month, it’s the perfect time to inspect your deck to ensure it’s safe to enjoy with your friends and family.
Breyer Construction’s owner, Matt Breyer, is President of the North American Deck and Rail Association (also known as NADRA). This organization creates campaigns and programs that educate the industry on the proper installation of decks. In addition, NADRA has developed a Consumer Checklist that outlines key elements for homeowners to utilize for an initial check of their decks.
For homeowners, the Breyer team recommends having a professional deck inspection completed if there are any concerns. A reputable inspector will thoroughly examine your deck and provide information on your deck’s capacity limits, identify any dangerous areas and/or give insight on any areas that could be a potential issue in the future. This will provide the correct information to the homeowner, so that they are able to make educated decisions on how to move forward with correcting any issues.
To learn more about Deck Safety Month, check out some of our other resources around deck safety:
A Word from the Breyer Team
The Breyer Construction field staff executes the approved client’s design of each project. Safety and code compliance is our primary focus. Our team members belong to industry organizations, hold industry certifications and continue to engage in ongoing training to ensure that they are providing the best work to all of our clients.
With safety as our priority, our team recommends homeowners utilize the Deck Safety Consumer Checklist yearly, as an efficient way to determine if parts of their deck need maintenance, repair or replacement. From there, give us a call and we would be more than happy to meet with you on-site. We will determine solutions for any issues you might find with your deck.
More About Deck Safety From Breyer
The International Building Code was established to ensure that structures are safe for human habitation. If you’ve purchased a home with a deck or are thinking about building one, it’s important to ensure that your deck adheres to these regulations. Each deck is unique based on location, use, etc. However, there are some general guidelines on the following items, that should be followed for a safe, code-compliant deck:
- Footing Size and Depth
- Posts and Beams
- Ledger Boards
- Joists
- Diagonal Bracing and Railings:
- Stairs
To learn more about the guidelines for each of these items, please read our recent blog post.
If you have any questions regarding the safety of your deck or if your deck is code-compliant, please contact the Breyer team and we would be more than happy to make an on-site visit to help you understand the status of your deck.