Patio and Deck Home Improvements
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DecksWood and composite decking materials create wonderful home improvement projects. We have collected a variety of great deck photos (see out Pinterest boards below) to provide a wide assortment of deck railing and deck design ideas.
For pool decks check out our page on swimming pools. |
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Decks for Mobile HomesMobile homes and campers can benefit from pretty little deck additions. Floating decks are a great way to extend your usable space and more easily access your mobile home or camper.
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PatiosYour home’s value is greatly increased with the addition of outdoor living areas such as patios and decks. Patios can be created using concrete, patio pavers, patio stones, or brick.
Patio furniture can be built in to both: decrease the overall costs of the living area and enhance the appearance of your home. |
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Deck Design IdeasPatio and Deck Ideas |
Always hire a professional decking contractor to install your deck. Know the codes and check to be sure it is installed correctly.
Read our article below for more information.
Read our article below for more information.
How to Build a Deck - Proper Deck Designs
Article Written by: Bill Pearn Masonry - July 2014
Deck Image courtesy of Wikepedia
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We've been following the WNEP story out of Penn Forest Township (Carbon County) about a deck that collapsed during a birthday party. Several people were injured and the questions about why the collapse happened remain to be answered. I'm a bit shocked by the 'no comment' attitudes noted in the report. Decks are not inherently mystical to build so it isn't THAT much of a mystery why it would collapse. Now I haven't SEEN this deck so everything I am about to say is an educated opinion.
When you watch the video it is obvious the deck ripped right off the house as opposed to it collapsing in on itself. There doesn't appear to be any rotted wood, the 4x4 posts look OK, and we can assume (but can't see) there was some sort of footing for the posts so the ledger board is in question. The rear part of the deck appears to be missing bolts, I see nails, but no bolts or bolt holes where we should be seeing them. Here is the video. |
When you watch the video look for the part that starts at 2:16 because therein lies what I think was the problem. You see how long that deck is? It's probably like 30' long. When they do the closeup, do you see how far apart the holes in the Tyvex are? How many lag bolts could have been there? There appears to be none on the left end. There isn't a hole until about 3'-4' in and there didn't appear to be any double lag bolt holes. So theoretically there was maybe 10 bolts in the whole ledger board.
Now, I'm guessing the distances and it is not beyond possible that the ledger board was bolted into a header that was then damaged by water, or ants, or termites. It doesn't look like that though. It looks like the deck was insufficiently attached to the home. So, how can a home owner decide if their deck needs to be more secure?
Pocono decks are SCARY. I've been to many homes were I looked at the deck and wanted to get the heck OFF it! Home owners can (probably should) have a contractor familiar with decks come take a look at it. Don't resign yourself to only going in that direction though. Educate yourself on deck codes. There is a ton of information online for many types of decks and your local code officer should be happy to give you information on what they require. Decks.com has this video that addresses what I think happened in the Carbon County case plus plenty of other great information for you.
Now, I'm guessing the distances and it is not beyond possible that the ledger board was bolted into a header that was then damaged by water, or ants, or termites. It doesn't look like that though. It looks like the deck was insufficiently attached to the home. So, how can a home owner decide if their deck needs to be more secure?
Pocono decks are SCARY. I've been to many homes were I looked at the deck and wanted to get the heck OFF it! Home owners can (probably should) have a contractor familiar with decks come take a look at it. Don't resign yourself to only going in that direction though. Educate yourself on deck codes. There is a ton of information online for many types of decks and your local code officer should be happy to give you information on what they require. Decks.com has this video that addresses what I think happened in the Carbon County case plus plenty of other great information for you.