Old deck, home inspection

last year

In the process of selling my house. The buyers home inspector has several defects from a 4’ elevated deck that was built 33 years ago..

Number one- Deck supports or possibly called the cross beams can’t be nailed, they have to use brackets and be screwed in.

The deck needs to rest on top of the vertical 4x4’s. So the support of the deck is on the 4 x4. Right now the corners are bolted to the 4 x 4.

The deck is probably 4’ off of the ground.

The top deck boards are nailed in but need to be screwed in.

I understand if it was being built today and how things have changed. Is it normal to have so much attention spent on a deck..

Are these things normal with older decks? Is it typical to have to change all of it out?

I am going to see if there was a building permit pulled for it.

There are a couple of other things I’ll post that I need to know how to fix or what they mean..

Thanks for your help!

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Comments (4)

Chad S
Original Author
last year
Waiting to hear from the buyers (negotiating). The realtor said we have to wait for them. There were some things that the inspector found, that are legit items. That’s what their for and I’m fine with that.

Just the deck thing seemed too far for a home inspector to document as a defect to the house. I’m asking to see if there were any old or grandfathered construction. I do appreciate reaching out. Have a great day.

Thanks you!
btydrvn
last year
Can’t imagine a deck 33 years old… passing any inspection… we had a similar experience in California… sale could not go forward without disconnecting/ or removing the deck
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millworkman
last year
last modified: last year
Currently from what know:

"Number one- Deck supports or possibly called the cross beams can’t be nailed, they have to use brackets and be screwed in."

Today they certainly can be nailed but joist hangers are a must.

"The deck needs to rest on top of the vertical 4x4’s. So the support of the deck is on the 4 x4. Right now the corners are bolted to the 4 x 4."

Absolutely nothing wrong with this method.

"The top deck boards are nailed in but need to be screwed in."

Never heard of such a code. Screws are better but that does not mean the boards cannot be nailed.

California may be different but I still doubt by that much. That being said a 33 year old deck very well may need to be redone as a general thought.
PRO
GN Builders L.L.C
last year
About a month ago I visited a house with a deck that I built not 33 but about 28 years ago, it was a second-story deck, and everything looked good as structural integrity goes, this is the 3d homeowner since then, and the only thing I noticed the previous owners replaced a section of railing cap and a few boards the stain looked fairly new in comparison.

In regard to: "The deck needs to rest on top of the vertical 4x4’s. So the support of the deck is on the 4 x4. Right now the corners are bolted to the 4 x 4."

If the inspector meant the girder being bolted to the sides of 4x4 instead of sitting on top of them, back in the days many used that method and bolted girders on each side of 4x4 but later the code changed in relation to that... unless 6x6 was used they would notch it and have it sit on top of the notch which still allowed by code.

Back then side mounting was allowed, I personally never liked that method and have never done it this way.