Sandbridge Real Estate Net

Save Lives with Simple Beach House Modification

Beach House deck design has come a long way over the last 15 years. Routine past practices are now recognized to have some major safety flaws. Selling 10 to 20 beach cottages per year results in me spending a lot of time watching home inspectors evaluate oceanfront homes.

How decks are attached to the house is one of the most important items that come up on a regular basis. In years past decks were secured to the house with large nails. In layman’s terms there are 2 problems with this practice. First: the nails rust in this salty environment. That once stout ten penny nail may now be a skinny & weak link. Second: Nails provide load bearing strength but don’t provide much benefit against shifting loads that may occur (think of a large group who are dancing the night away).

A series of large lag bolts to secure the band board and deck to the house may provide all the change you need. This inexpensive remedy may help you avoid a potentially terrible situation. Be sure to have your deck checked annually!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 15th, 2012 at 8:11 pm and is filed under Buyers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.