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A Real Butt Buster Now here's what I keep my customers from having me do -- cut up the
deck into multiple platforms just to make it all look interesting.
Well it may look interesting, but it is dangerous. Just look at
that jog-leg on the 1st step! Picture this: 20 lawyers standing around congregating while sipping wine over a period of 3 hours. Do you think it would be their fault if any of them fell and fractured their butt? This wouldn't pass muster at any local building dept. in California. The best use of a deck is to keep it at one continuous level unless:
And then the transition should be safe and traditionally segregated
between the levels. A simple resolution to this travesty →
When you want to get rid of lawyers who you gonna call? 1-288-828-7837 |
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"If you want it done right, If you are a do-it-yourselfer who thinks he's a match for the experienced professional, you have become afflicted with a malady known as delusion, curable, if not from an acquired infirmity while doing it yourself, then by amputation at your local do-it-yourself clinic. All the world knows for a certainty that you only get what you pay for, and if you are a do-it-your-selfer you will be paying yourself nothing. Good luck; that’s all an amateur has going for himself.
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That Darn Ol' Tree "You know, I just couldn't get around that darn ol' tree and get this design to work out." This gives a whole new meaning to the words "traffic stopper" ! Bonk ! |
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Think "tree trap".
Buys enough time for the builder to get
far out of town or clear of the statutes of limitations. Here's how to do it right:
There are multiple octagonal frames each of which can be removed as the tree expands without damaging the deck in the removal process.
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Hyatt Feather-Basket Inn - No Vacancy-
The predominant portion of this deck is the enclosed 1½ story lattice skirting. Come Spring every year this will serve as one monster of an aviary. All summer the owners will be getting the flock out of there. |
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How did someone ever come up with this design?
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Well here's a deck that's complex and the builder claims it as "artistic" -- but in function it is nearly useless! This space would have been so much more useful if it weren't parsed into three levels and so cut up, that is, kept as all one level. What happened here is that an older existing deck (lowest level) was expanded into a larger one and it was expedient for the contractor to set the new portions on top of the old. But now this collage of platforms
is being touted as an artistic structure. To my eye, the whole construct
looks like it belongs at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. |
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! Whoa !
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Here's an example where function was sacrificed for form. See those railings? They're only 18-inches high. See that 7 to 8 foot drop on the hill side? See the lights on the posts? That says the deck was designed for use after dark. What appears at first glance to be a designer deck is a casualty awaiting to happen. That railing does not comply with the Uniform Building Code -- the least restrictive code in the country -- the minimum standard upon which all local building codes use as a starting point. The UBC code specifies a 36-inch high minimum railing for this elevated deck. What appears at first glance to be a pleasing perch with a panoramic vista could be someone's trip to the wheelchair. If ever in the life of this deck anyone ever falls over that railing, it will be the owner's trip to the courthouse. No-one's insurance will ever protect anyone from any violation of the UBC. Oh, and don't think the lawyers and District Attorney will overlook the designer and the builder either. Hope is the only recourse now.
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Hover Deck Well here's one for the record book ! See those cables attached to the corners of that triangular girder? This is a suspended deck with a poop room on it ! I don't think it gets any more wacky than this. Not only that, but this was built by a company in Pennsylvania that actually specializes in this type of deck !!!!! Who says you need property to build on? Just wait until California's realtors get wind of this one. This could be the next "affordable housing" in California. |
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This deck photo was found on a website that was cited by a search
engine under keywords "photos of cheap decks". I couldn't believe my eyes ! ! ! Do you see how the planks are spliced at the corners around the step? The planks intersecting from different directions don't line up. And the splices don't run from inside to outside corner. The proper technique is to cut the planks at the angle made between the inside and outside corners so that the planks all line up evenly along the splice. I suspect this was a do-it-yourself project -- a deck-builder just couldn't be this inept. |
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It's a Trex deck too How's this for a planking job? Builder used a handsaw
and a rasping file. Has to be yet another do-it-yourselfer; 1 - Second course filed into to accommodate post. Well, you get what you pay for and do-it-yourselfers pay themselves nothing. |
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Not of this Earth |
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"Please excuse our mess -- its just the
nature of things" Here's a redwood deck that was built with stone skirting. Note the grout spill-over on the stairs. This is a permanent stain; I know of no chemical that will take cement stains out of redwood. That's just one of the reasons why we build decks form solid-plastic PrimoPlank. (See the Stark project.) And how about that see-through safety railing? |
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I then came across this engineered version of a deck on
stilts, in Texas. That suspended deck goes to the other side for
one more hidden segment. However, notice that it's not just the deck that
is being supported here by stilt construction, but the whole living area!
If an earthquake wont get it, a hurricane will. |
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Bombs Away
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First observe that the spa is aligned with the corner in the wall. Do you see that square hip-roof over the spa? It's parked up there on top of two double beams and it's set at the same angle as the spa. The customer probably insisted on it because they wanted pelt-protection from the evening's gull gatherings. From the front, the canopy would appear to have only two posts on opposite corners for support. No wonder we got only a side view and the photo was cropped on top. A better solution would have been to hang the very same canopy from a taller support structure, widen the distance between the posts and eliminate those diagonal support beams. Sometimes the builder lets himself get pushed into a corner. If I wouldn't be permitted to do what I just mentioned then I would have just gotten the flock out of there for good. |
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Grave Crossing for the Brave This is an arched bridge, obviously but it's so arched as to be dangerous. But what is that thing in the center? Looks like a sign prop with those two12-inch hanging chains on either side; probably a mount for a " Watch Your Step " sign. "Over my dead body." Yup, that makes sense. |
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One giant step for man This design is a half oval because the builder was constrained by the two cellar windows on either side and had to extend the deck out far enough to make it minimally useful. Consequently, when there are two distinct diameters and the shape is round, you get an oval. Not only does this deck look like it was trapped by the house and squashed but oval structures in general look like squashed circles and should just be avoided. One small leap for mankind |
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Curtain of Crates? This is touted as a deck with a privacy screen. It looks like the builder went to the lumber yard, retrieved some shipping pallets, brought them back and stood them on edge. No lateral bracing; it's not a windbreak. It's a mirage because it will disappear in the next storm. "The answer, my friend |
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Affordable
You might now better appreciate this true |
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And that 2-step drop at the intersection of 3 levels. This may not bother
those familiar with the deck, but what about guests?
