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Posted

This is how we install balconies to the house in Houston. All the homes I looked at in this subdivision had balconies attached to the homes in this manner. New construction! 13 10D nails throught the Hardie siding attaching the ledger to the home. Post not secured, rim joist nailed to the ledger.

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Posted

I'd call that an imminent threat to life and safety. How many of you guys would pick up the phone to tell the AHJ about these decks in the subdivision? As a humanitarian, I'd make the call because I think it is the right thing to do. What is our obligation as an inspector in situations such as this?

Posted

I routinely write them up for lack of bolting and lack of flashings.

A few years ago there was a kid getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan here and his family held a going away party, The whole family was at the party and they were on the deck when it pulled off the house and collapsed. His grandfather was killed - real nice going away present. I use it as an example of why it's important to properly flash and bolt them and I include a graphic of a properly-done ledger in my reports. Nobody around here argues about it - probably because there have been no less than 3 deck collapses here in the 10+ years I've been doing this and every time people were seriously injured.

There's an article about this issue in this month's JLC. Frank Woeste has developed a bolting table for deck ledgers that he's trying to get incorporated into the 2009 edition of the IRC.

OT - OF!!!

M.

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