Porch support posts

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Anyone see an issue here? House is 16 years old. Screened and roofed porch was probably once a deck. Support posts showed no evidence of fastener attachment to the beams. Ledger was bolted well to the house so movement is unlikely.

(The beam perpendicular to the ledger was not typical also.)

[Jeffrey R. Jonas]

Joe,
It appears the ledger is fastened over the brick veneer. If so, this is a no-no.

[Michael Larson]

Same guy built this one.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Thanks guys. Here's what I came up with.

"There are components of the wood deck that are structurally unsound. The posts were not fastened to the beam in any way we could observe. Through bolts or approved brackets are the recommended method. We can elaborate on this issue, but the entire deck should be evaluated by a competent and licensed contractor and serviced accordingly."

[John Evans]

As mentioned, attaching a ledger board to brick veneer is not recommended. It is hard to see, but there appears to be some empty nailing holes in the joist hangers.

[Larry D. Kage]

It looks like the ledger to house bolts are high enough to catch the rim joist in the pictures.

Joist ends, beam ends and post ends without mechanical attachment should be noted with repairs as needed.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by jevans

As mentioned, attaching a ledger board to brick veneer is not recommended. It is hard to see, but there appears to be some empty nailing holes in the joist hangers.

True but in this case there is very little shear load at the ledger board due to the intermediate posts.

This deck could easily be made free standing by adding posts near the ledger board and eliminating that issue.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Originally Posted by lkage

It looks like the ledger to house bolts are high enough to catch the rim joist in the pictures.

Joist ends, beam ends and post ends without mechanical attachment should be noted with repairs as needed.

Ledger was bolted through the rim joist at the house. I think the issue alluded to was that the brick may shear off the bolts.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Originally Posted by jevans

As mentioned, attaching a ledger board to brick veneer is not recommended. It is hard to see, but there appears to be some empty nailing holes in the joist hangers.

Good eye. Most of the hangers only had 2 screws per side. I wrote that up also.

[Larry D. Kage]

Originally Posted by jfunderburk

Ledger was bolted through the rim joist at the house. I think the issue alluded to was that the brick may shear off the bolts.

I'm not following you.

You mean if the deck sagged the brick would shear off the bolts?

If so, it was not attached properly.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Originally Posted by lkage

You mean if the deck sagged the brick would shear off the bolts?

That is the thinking, I believe. Sheer forces may break the bolts if the house and/or deck settles.

On brick veneer homes, another line of thought is that if there is any settlement in the deck, it will crack the brick veneer. Best to have a stand-alone deck with a 100% brick veneer home.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Isn't that a couple of toenails through the joist into the top of the post? If so... not great, but not going anywhere.

[Bruce A. King]

Less than code decks are the norm, I have found just one deck in over 4 years that was completely built correctly. It was on a tore up foreclosure, mold infested house. The reason that the deck was correct appeared to be due to the previous use of the home (group home of some sort) and a permit was pulled for the deck. It even had grippable handrails.

Reporting on deck construction methods can range from a simple, unhelpful, "its built wrong" to trying to explain the issues with pictures etc. as Joe has done.

Both methods have possible implications and we as home inspectors have to struggle to find a good way to report deck issues. I have tweaked and tweaked my deck reporting and will continue to do so because most have their own unique issues, some of which while "wrong" are not really going to fail.