When buying real estate, your concern is “location, location, location.” And maybe price. When building real estate, the concern is “connections, connections, connections.” And price again. I’m not talking about fun social networking connections, but about the physical connections between the various components that make up your structure.
A primary cause of balcony, porch and deck collapses is the sudden breaking of the connection between the platform structure and the house. In some cases, the structural collapse occurs because the platform is only nailed into the main building. The nails pull out first, then the whole structure pulls away and falls.
But bolts won’t always do the trick either. Even with a solid ledger board, sheathing and siding between the ledger and the building’s band joist make the connection inherently weak. Sometimes a band joist doesn’t even exist where you’d expect one. At other times, the band joist has pulled away from the house.
Frank Woeste, P.E., Ph.D, a structural engineer, suggests that using exterior posts attached to the main building to support the deck ledger would provide a better solution. Then the ledger would have a support upon which to exert any downward stress, rather than exerting it by shearing out nails or bolts from the wall. Dr. Woeste also cautions against the weakness inherent in using 2 x 10 or 2 x 12 band joists.
But most people wanting to add a new deck, porch, or balcony aren’t going to conduct extensive investigation of the nature of their band joists first. They certainly aren’t going to alter their home exterior by adding support posts attached to the building. They may build the deck themselves.
But even professional contractors don’t always have all the information they need to build a safe and sturdy deck, balcony, or porch. Building codes tell them that these platform structures must support a 40 psf (per square foot) live load, and 50 psf including the dead load of the structure itself. But the building codes don’t really clarify how to do this.
Building codes don’t tell them about lateral loads or how to make secure connections between their deck and their home. And many, maybe even most, decks never receive inspections after they’re built. Many inspectors might not even know precisely what to look for in inspecting these types of platform structures.
Not every structural collapse occurs because the platform structure is old and weakened over time. Some structural collapses occur mere days or weeks after construction.
The resulting injuries are often catastrophic or even fatal. Victims are left to seek recourse through civil compensation claims. Our experienced structural collapse lawyers could help you win just financial compensation for your severe losses from a deck, porch, or balcony collapse. But we realize that no amount of financial compensation can bring back a beloved family member or your own health and well being after a serious structural collapse accident.
If you’ve suffered injury from a structural collapse caused by negligent building, maintenance, or inspection, contact us for a free consultation about your accident. We could help you understand your legal options, any obstacles you might face to your claim, and your potential outcomes in the case. We could protect your legal rights in the matter and help you make a full financial recovery for your injuries. Call today.