Whether you like to enjoy the sunsets while lounging on your deck or love to host parties, the wooden deck often becomes the respite of your life. During the warm summer months, people become more interested in spending time outdoors. This is what leads them to pay attention to their existing decks or compel them to contact the best deck builder in Toronto to build one.
Even though most people consider building decks as one of the easiest processes if you are not careful, it can do a lot of damage to your home. So, before following the random instructions of the television or a youtube channel, it is always better to ask the opinions of the professionals.
What Can Go Wrong?
It is hard to enlist the things that can go wrong while building a deck. The lack of permits, the type of wooden panels used for making the deck, the footings, the clearance of the property lines, are some of the factors that are quite common.
These problems occur when you build decks that are not attached to your home. However, if you try to build a deck attached to your home all by yourself, things can get ugly.
Hire The Right Contractor
We have already asked you to hire a professional while building the deck. However, you should keep in mind that any professional cannot give you the result that you want. You have to hire the best deck builder in Toronto to achieve your desired results.
To do that, check the work history of the contractor you are talking to. Make sure that they have a strong satisfied customer base. Contact the customers, and do your research to make sure you are hiring the best possible contractor for your home.
The experienced contractors know all the things that can go wrong while building the deck. They also know the ways of averting disasters easily. After hiring one, you just have to get the permit for building a deck to keep things legal.
Deck safety
A deck, which is attached to your house, is not only exposed to the elements but also bears a lot of loads. Most people think that they can have as many numbers of people as they want on their decks. This is one of the grave mistakes that people often make.
You have to remember that the structural component of your house is protected from the wrath of Mother Nature. Unlike that, your deck is exposed to the changes of weather and can weaken over time.
Check Your Deck Regularly
To make sure that your deck is in its prime condition, you have to check it regularly. You can take the help of the inspectors of the best deck builder in Toronto or check the condition of your deck on your own. If you decide to take up the task on your own, you should keep the following factors in mind.
- Is Your Deck Safely Attached To Your House?
You need to keep the deck attached to your house in such a way that it does not cause any damage or water infiltration inside your home. If such water infiltration does take place, you might have to replace your windows, doors, floorings, sheathings, sub floorings and whatnot, where the water has crept inside.
- Is the Ledger Bolt securely attached?
If you are thinking that the deck will be directly attached to the walls of your home, you are mistaken. The deck gets to build off of a ledger board, which is connected to the exterior walls of your home.
The ledger board that stays beneath the entire length of your deck should be securely bolted to the walls of your house. You should never nail the board to the walls.
Even if you use screws, the ledger board would not be able to bear the load of the deck. Only the bolts have the shear strength to hold the weight. While bolting, make sure that the bolts run deep inside the solid structure and not just the exterior sheathing.
Remember, rotted ledger boards, cause more deck failures than you can count. So, keep an eye on the condition of the ledger board. Don’t ignore a single thing as the rot can be at a higher level than you can ever imagine.
Conclusion
Make sure that the condition of your deck is at the top-notch level, you should keep an eye on the area where the ledger board is attached to the wall. Even if your contractor has done everything right, there might be some water damage after a few years of work.
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