Welcome to my Homepage Blog. Here you'll find stories about inspections I have done and facts I think are interesting to share with you. Come back often to see what's new.
-Glenn Stewart, The House Whisperer
| No Leg To Stand On |
| Written by Glenn Stewart |
| Thursday, 27 May 2010 13:37 |
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Picture a house built on a steep hillside with an elevated deck 18 feet above the ground with the bottoms of the support posts rotted away. This is what the inspector reported at a recent home inspection in the Oakland hills. Dry rot refers to the decay of timber in buildings and other wooden structures caused by a certain fungi. However, fungi requires a high moisture content (25-30%) to initiate an attack on timber. Once established, the decay can cause instability and collapse in houses, decks, and other structures. We live in earthquake country and the deck probably wouldn't take much shaking. The other scary thing is that a live load (people walking on a deck) could cause the deck to collapse. Our recommendation was not to use the deck until a structural engineer could review the situation prior to the close of the contingency period. |
