IS THERE A CODE REQUIREMENT FOR FASTENERS INSTALLED ON A DECK ALONG THE WASHINGTON COAST?
BUSTER
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Hi, I recently bought a six-year old house along the Washington coast. We love it, BUT(of course there always is a “but”) one of the few things we are troubled with is the second floor deck framing has been secured together with “bright” fasteners. Several of the deck boards are mostly corroded already! I am wondering if there is a code which should have been followed requireing ss or hot-dipped fasteners? Any help would be appriciated!
Replies
Are you sure those "bright"
Are you sure those "bright" fasteners aren't stainless? If they are really "bright" nails they should be rusted by now.
bright fasteners
Hi, yes they are brights...and yes you are right about their condition. The fasteners used on the deck boards are pretty-much worthless. I did check the codes that were in place at the time, they were required then.
It just really makes me pretty upset(putting it in "P-C" terms that the builder did this..and the jurisdiction sign-off on it. Even though there is nothing I can do about that I just want to make myself heard when I do contact the jurisdiction.
Sure there is a Building Department or AHJ at all?
Where I live there wasn't any code enforcement untill about 5-years ago.
And, a lot of the time folks don't get permits at all.
I asked the Manager at the local Building Department about what drawings he will want to see when I redo the roof on the carport next to my garage, and tie the roof of the two builings together.
He was shocked that I was even asking.
So, there may neverhave been a permit pulled or an inspection done on you deck. They are one of the things frequently constructed by homeowners without permits.
Hi, yes there is a jurisdiction where the house is. the house is less then six yrs old. The deck was part of the construction with the house. Unfortunatly the area was really booming at the time so I think things went w-out too-many inspections. I do understand that can happen but the jurisdiction should not be turning away from their responsibility. But, life goes on..I can handle it. I just want to give them a lashing about it anyway since these things really "bite"when done wrong then maybe they will not schrug-off what is their responsibility. Miracles do happen!
Huh??
You seem to expect that the building inspector is going to crawl around and check the fastener type that was used in nailing down a deck. That's just not realistic in most circumstances, that's way down the list. Did you hire a home inspector to perform a pre-purchase inspection, and if so, what did they say?
David...sorry I did not explain the situation since I thought it was not necessary:
The deck: is actually on the second level; as for what I would expect from the jurisdiction? Yes, I would have expected the jurisdiction to actually look at the connections, flashing installation(poorly lapped) and the fasteners(type included). I would have also expected them to have inspected the vapor berrier, foundation(mono-pour)/slab/perimeter slab insulation. Reason for mentioning the foundation/flashing/perimeter insulation is after a very wet November storm I saw a section of carpeting on the main level of the west wall was wet. So I had my 13 yr old boy take a break from the puter..to do some manual labor by uncovering on just one section(facing the West of course). I see where there still is a form board in place, flashing not really protecting the insulation, as required; perimeter insulation extends 8", not the req. 12"; final grade is barely below the slab edge(grade is required to be min. 6" below slab edge). When a building dept. takes on the biz of inspections as well as takeing the permit monies then yes they are expected to perform their jobs, not do drive-bys.
As for the home inspection, did not have one done. One reason is the type of sale/purchase would not have made any difference. I knew ahead of time there may possibly be some problems with the house, and was willing to deal with that. Bottom line still remains is the jurisdiction dropped the ball. No guessing on that. I am only making them aware of the fact these things could have easily been non-issues if they & the contr. did their jobs.
Most BI inspections are "drive-bys" to a degree. The inspector will not check everything, but will "sample" the work and then check more closely if red flags are raised. In particular, things like distance from grade aren't determined until final grading is done, well after most inspecting has been done.
If you want it done more thoroughly, expect to pay even more for your permit.
Simplest way to get correct answer
Call the building department there and ask which code was in effect at the time, and what the fastener requirements were.
Coast=stainless steel
Any exterior construction on the coast should utilize Stainless Steel hardware and fasteners, if not by code then by best practice standards. If you need to do any retrofitting/reconstruction, insist on stainless. The website below has stainless steel fasteners and brackets to deal with coastal elements.
screwsolutions.com
Thanks!
Inspections Not Responsible
I don't think the inspections department actually has any responsibility to the owner to guarantee that the builder has followed the code. They have the authority to force the builder to follow the code, but no responsibility to guarantee that the builder has actually done so. The only issue is between owner/buyer and the deck builder.
I understand your thinking, but in my areas in Oregon the c-o. can be with-held. The responsibilities of the AHJ is also stated in the code. So, the inspector may not beat the contractor into submission, but they actually do have tools which can work favorably so the c-o can be issued and the owner can feel somewhat secure in believeing the house was built per code. You see, the code is not book with suggestions, it actually has requirements in it that is actually required to be followed.
But the point is that the job of the inspector is not to inspect everything and make sure that there are absolutely no code violations on any project, but to basically put enough fear of God into contractors that they will police themselves. If the inspectors find a violation they'll use their baseball bat to get the situation corrected, and the contractor will likely be subjected to extra scrutiny. But they'll never find everything.
Thanks for your input! Of course inspectors will not catch everything, but they at least have to make the attempt to do their jobs. Nobody is perfect! I would never expect that of anyone. As stated in my other posts on these issues I have come into, I just get abit irritated with what is obvious: poor workmanship, inspectors not being thourough. I have dealt with literally hundreds of builders as well as being one myself in my younger days, so I do know a little of what I have seen on this recently-acquired future retirement house. As also previously stated the purchase of this place was one which required very-quick response on my part, with only having a contr. taking a quick look at the place before I locked the deal in. Other than what I have mentioned about the house, giving consideration for the price I paid for it, we are still feeling very fortunate to have it. I just wished these few things had been addressed by the AHJ so I did not have to...always remember it could have been much worse!
What kind of plan have you got to redo the deck nailing? Is it the framing that is fastened together with the wrong nails, or is it the deck boards being nailed to the framing? I suppose it is not possible to get the nails out without tearing up the wood pretty badly. What type of wood is the deck made out of in the decking and framing, and how is it finished?
You could add proper fasteners and leave the old nails in. But you might have to come up with a way to prevent the plain steel nail from staining the boards. I really like the GRK structural screws for decks. They have washer heads with terrific clamping power, and can really keep wood together tight. I used them in stainless on one deck for the deck boards. I left the heads standing on top of the deck boards so the washers bear on the top surface of the deck boards. That really captures the board and keeps it very stable. The button heads are where you walk, but it does not seem like an issue. I laid them out evenly spaced, so they look decent. A lot of people want to hide the fastener heads with those small countersinking headed screws, but the wood tends to lift right up around them.
Thanks for the input. To deal with the ledger board flashing I am thinking of pulling the deck away from the house, adding some Vicor then sliding new flashing behind it.
As for the type of fasteners & where they are: it appears that all of the ails are brights, the bolts & washers are hot dipped.
The type of wood used: pt on the sub-structure; cedar 2x deck surface; solid wood(painted) for the rail/ballusters. Not sure what I will do with the deck boards; probably will look at a composite...any ideas/suggestions would be great! As for the brights in the sub-structure: I will simply ad ss screws or nails(the GRK mentioned may be the way to go, thanks).
The bleeding of the fasteners in the painted wood: I thought about trying some product that is supposed to seal it, but am not sure it would be the way to go for the coast area :(.
Will like to wait until the weather there is a little better..in the spring.
But you have no way of knowing if inspectors made "the attempt to do their jobs". They may have tagged a hundred other things in the house, or this may be the only egregious problem there was.
Granted, some inspectors get lazy, and others get too chummy with the contractors. But many do honestly attempt to do their jobs to the best of their ability, and you've offered no evidence that your inspectors were not in the latter category.
Florida Gulf Coast stainless starts with rust spots in 2 weeks. Can see spots under the paint in 2 years. And coil nails are $300 a box.