No, that won't help (enough). Any fasteners into end grain will pull out easily.
That helps, but steel hangars should have been used also. This is a accident waiting to happen. Since you know it, it's a certain liability. Replace it.
Since none of us know what structure is hidden inside the exterior wall of the house, nor how the ledger board holding that end of the deck is attached to the wall, saying it needs posts under it is pointless...
Odds are it is not adequately supported given the general appearance and condition of the rest of the deck... But to say that without actually having proper pictures or looking at it to see the conditions is bogus...
That deck is unsafe as built and either needs extensive repairs or a complete tear down and redo to make it safe...
~~ Evan
I agree. I would even board up the exit door unto the deck to keep people off of it for now.
Fix it now or fix it when the house is sold.
utilitarian posted for all of us...
Simpson Strong-Tie has a solution for this. Look at their web site or catalog.
HOWEVER, the whole design and construction is questionable and some one with the knowledge must be consulted as to whether it can be repaired or replaced.
Yes decks collapse and people are hurt. Do you want your loved ones on an obvious debacle like this?
Wow. Thanks for the numerous responses! Allow me to read them, then I'll have some more questions, probably.
OK, I got some free time and was able to read all the responses. Wow. I'm not literate about what a joist is versus a beam, etc, but I was able to understand quite a bit. Thanks for the ideas. I was a little dismayed by the high quantity of gloom and doom posters who took over the thread, although I do appreciate the concern for safety.
I did have a licensed and insured carpenter over yesterday to look at the deck and give me an estimate. He never mentioned anything about the deck being unsafe as we were talking, so I just asked him if it looked safe to him, and he said it did look safe. He said he would add a 3 or 4 foot piece of 2 x 10 behind the side rafter, and some bracket there also, to shore up the gap. Also would use a modified hanger (one side bent over flat) on the outside of the gap. He was not concerned for his safety while he would be working on or under the deck.
I also asked about using screws versus nails, and he said it depended on the use. He said nails were better for installing hangers, for instance. He said he would use nails to install the new railing on my deck, since nails had already been used in this deck.
I want to point out that the inner and outer rims ( the 2 boards in the notch of the post) are supported by the 45 degree angled support piece (joist, beam?) which is connected in the corner between the post and the deck. Hard to notice in the pics, but it is there in one of the pics). There is a notch in the support, on which the 2 rims rest.
About the mounting of the deck to the structure : It is not pulling away at all back there, thank God, and it is fastened using nails and bolts.
Interestingly, someone in my neighborhood, who had no deck previously, just had one built, and they used the same design as mine, in that it had only 2 posts, both in front, and no posts near the structure. They just mounted the deck to the structure like mine.
My neighborhood is a long line of townhouse buildings, most of which got the same deck as mine back when the development was built. As far as I know no deck has collapsed. One guy did indeed have his deck torn down and rebuilt , just a short while ago, so maybe he thought it was getting unsafe, but his new deck has posts only in front, just like mine, but i can't tell if he has the notches in the post.
Not minimizing the importance of safety, want to mention again that the 45 degree angled piece does support the 2 rims, although it's hard to tell from the pics.
Thanks again for the numerous responses.
utilitarian wrote: ...
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So, since it's not possible from the pictures you posted to tell that there's actually something other than a few inadequate nails holding up the entire rear of the deck you're dismayed by concerns over safety???
OK, if you say so... :(
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My preferred design is to place the 6x6's inside the 2x10 joist frame with the 6x6 notched so that the 2x10 frame corner is on top of the notched 6x6 ledge. I let the 6x6 extend up and also be the rail post. Then when the deck surface is finished I wrap the outside with
2x12 set even with the deck surface. Then finish with carrage bolts through the 2x12, 2x10, and 6x6. That provides a really solid support as well as a rail post that is not going anywhere.HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.