I just had a new deck built, only to discover that one section of it isn't level. It's out by 1/2 inch over a four foot run.
Is this acceptable and within reasonable tolerances? Or should I withold some of the payment to the builder? If the latter, how much should I penalize him (as a percentage of the total)?
TIA
1/2" in 4 feet is a lot. Are you sure you did not tell them to drain away from the house? I would have.
The rest is up to you and your contractor. Talk to him, the owner, in a calm tone. See what he says.
"Grade me not on my mistakes, but how I handle them" Alan Bown
Is it visable easily then have him fix it. You have to give him the chance to fix his mistakes. Is it not easily visable, you need a level to see it and you are nitpicking, then think about it.
I can't figure out what would create a circumstance with a small section of a deck being out of level. Perhaps you should/could tell us a bit more. Is this one large rectangle? What part of the deck is out of level? Is this deliberate pitch to shed rain?
Normal fall on exterior concrete, wood porches, and other things prone to rain is 1/4" per foot. 4 feet should fall 1".
(top posted for your convenience) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Keep the whole world singing . . . . DanG (remove the sevens) snipped-for-privacy@7cox.net
Beebo... some good news.
A deck is "not" supposed to be level. I've built a ton of decks over the last 30 years and the rule of thumb is they "must slope away" from your house.
A deck is an outdoor extension of your indoor living space, and NEEDS to slope away from the house to allow any water that collects on the deck to drain away from the house and the foundation of your home.
The amount of slope / angle varies between builder but 1/2" over four feet is too radical for my taste. The reason is... if your deck "really does" drop 1/2" every four feet you will physically be able detect the slope. In other words, if you have your back to the house while standing on the deck, you will be aware that your toes are lower than your heels. Like you're walking down an incline.
Here's the deal. At a minimum, the slope should be at least 1" of slope (drop) for every 15 feet of deck. Among deck builders most follow a rule of 1/4" for every 4 feet of deck. Just food for thought; according to Illinois Code, exterior decks require a minimum is 1" per every 10 feet! (Which equates to 1/2" every five feet.)
Before panicing, your best bet is to double check the "overall" slope before calling your builder. The easiest way is to use a line level (a string with a string bubble level)
String level example:
Like SQlit suggested... approach your deck builder calmly and professionally. The reason for saying this is if the deck is out of tolerance, if you push too hard, rather than fix it he could push back saying the drop is within his tolerances.
Just FYI... I build all my decks to slope 1/4" for every four feet.
Hope this helps Elton
\\ So the rest of the deck is level, But one section is not. If the contractor was going for lvel he has a small problem if he is going for a slope he has a big problem. Slope is better for water, water sitting on the deck is not good it will shorten the woods life ( if you used wood)
Hi Dave,
The deck is an octogon, and one corner of it is higher than the others.
The slope was not intentional.
The deck should slope away from the house wall.
If one area is out of line with the rest of the deck then point it out to the builder and see if he will rectify it.
If it is on an outside corner you need to be sure that the support post is not subject to heaving/settling when wet.
This isn't hard to do is it? (having said that, how would one do it?)
Should one wait a couple or a few months before final adjustment? So the soil or anyhting else involved can set. I have no experience, but even if the soil had say for millions of years, doesn't digging the hole for the post end up stirring up a thin layer of soil and rock in the bottom of the post holes?
Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.
What water is going to collect on a deck when the slats are spaced 1/4" or more from each other?
Hmmm, Even saw all the water slipping thru the gaps? Any how, I never saw deck perfectly level. It has yto slope away from the main building. My two bits. Tony
this can probably be adjusted where the band is fastened to the post, maybe even adjust the band at two posts...
but like someone else said, a contractor is allowed to correct his mistakes in the eyes of the law, not to mention, if you had to put a level on it to determine this mistake...then just enjoy the deck...
im sure you will not be suprised by this, but it is very common for a house to be out of level i've seen as much as 1" in a 50' span...no that doesn't sound like a lot for a house, but during construction that one inch will keep showing up until something is cheated back.
Oh no... I DID notice that the deck looked crooked while he was still framing! The contractor took out his level, placed it exactly where I pointed, looked me right in the eye and said it was perfectly level.
A few days later, I said it again, and he said it was an 'optical illusion', because it is perfectly level
Finally, On Saturday, my curiousity got the better of me and I checked for myself.... and it is out 1/2 over four feet.
This is why I'm so pissed off... he looked me right in the eye and lied about it.
I really don't think that it's practical to correct the problem now, as he would have to dismantle the deck to do so. But I do think he should adjust the price somewhat.
By the way, the deck cost $9,900. When you're paying that kind of money, the deck should be near perfect.
Even if you only paid $1,500... the deck should be perfect.
FYI: The problem "CAN" be fixed! The issue is whether or not you're willing to push it.
NOTE: We (contractors) depend on referrals. If he fixes it, then he can rest assured other perspective deck owners can get a positive referral from you... (as well as other homeowners in your area). If he doesn't want to fix it, whenever any one you know is looking to build a new deck... tell them "not" to use your contractor.
To give your builder the benefit of the doubt, it's posible his level is out of wack. It happended to me about 10 years ago and I had to re-hand a set of french doors. As him to come back and recheck using a different level.
Last spring I completed a 65' deck with twin octagons at opposite ends. The customer pointed out that "one" side of "one" octagon was longer than the other sides. (i.e., one side out of 16)
Although it wasn't really noticeable, they were right, one side was longer than all the other sides by one and a half inches. I figured out where my framer made the error. To fix it would require that I rip out two deck sections set a new corner post to correct it. Yikes! (First time I ever had a customer measure the sides of my octagons) Anyway, I offered them a credit of $750. They said they didn't want money. Darn!
Oh well, it took me a half a day to correct, plus material. I made the framer who screwed up fix for no pay. (it was either that or he could find another job
In the end... I got a lot of good referrals out of the job.
I spoke to the contractor yesterda, and he got pretty upset. (I know he was more upset at himself than at me). But he agreed to repair it.
He even called today and apologized for getting mad. He said he was frustrated that he would have made such an error.
He'll be here tomorrow for the repairs.
I'm happy.
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