Bill:

B My second floor deck has taken a turn for the worse. Living in MA all
B the contractors seem to be taking the winter off and I think I will be
B needing to secure this deck myself. With that said here are the
B particulars.

They probably went to Florida where it's warm! g


B It is a second floor porch approximately 10' length x 5' depth. The
B front of the structure is supported by 2 vertical beams measuring
B approximately 4" x 4". The front top of these 2 beams are cut out to
B insert the following horizontal. 3 boards (each about 1" x 12" x the
B length of the porch) nailed together and standing on the edge. These
B 3 are secured to the vertical beams by nails in the back of the
B cutout.

If I'm picturing this correctly relatively standard.


B The issues are 1)The horizontal boards are leaning forward in the
B cutout at one end. 2) The vertical beams are beginning to crack.

If the 'vertical beams' are cracking from normal aging then is, um,
normal. It's quite possible for knots to fall out.

Not quite sure what you mean by the horizontal boards "leaning
forward". If the opposite end (at the house) isn't moving then I
would guess things to be relatively normal. (I cannot see your deck
to this guess may be wrong.)

Perhaps a look at other decks in your neighbourhood is in order --
compare your's to their's.


B Somehow I need to get additional support and / or repair this. Will
B some one please rough out for me the steps I need to take so that I
B can do this. Is there any equipment that I can rent to make this
B easier? I know that I am over my head with this but really believe
B that I will be looking at a collapse if I don't get it taken care of.

If the deck is truly in need of repair you will probably be ahead to
not do anything in the order of your own repairs: drilling holes,
adding supports, etc., may cause more long-term damage by not knowing
what to do for a proper repair. Wait until Spring for the contractors
to return. ...You might want to consider a fencing company if you
can't get a contractor to come out -- they might also do decks or know
of someone (maybe one of their laid-off seasonal employees).

If still no go, as another respondant stated, stay off the deck if it
is not safe. Also keep others away from the deck from the outside:
yon don't want the deck collapsing and injuring someone walking by.
If it's in your backyard where no one goes except you and the rest of
the family also consider the occasional passer-by such as the postal
carrier or the meter reader.

-
¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®

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