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Old 01-07-2008, 11:28 AM
Eric Smith Eric Smith is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Millersville, MD
Posts: 33
Deck or Landing Pad
Hello All,

During an inspection over the weekend I happened upon a deck that was unique from any I had ever seen. I just thought that I would share. As you will see in the photos the deck is covered in ceramic type tiles. Pretty heavy flooring for a deck, but not to worry. The deck is supported in the center by a concrete post that supports 6 I-beams. The 6 steel I-beams radiate outward from the center post and rest on concrete posts around the perimeter of the deck. The I-beams are incased in concrete and covered by a sheet of plywood (I guess for aesthetics). Atop the I-beams is plywood decking. The seller was extremely proud of his "deck", he said that he had a friend that could build anything and that this deck was permitted by the municipality.

FYI, in my report I instructed my client to obtain a copy of all permits associated with the building of the deck and I disclaimed/excluded the deck from inspection because the inspector is not familiar with, nor has he ever seen a deck constructed in such a fashion using these materials and is not qualified to evaluate the soundness of the deck structure. I also recommended further evaluation.

Off of the records though, this deck could hold up the entire house, plus some.
Attached Images
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File Type: jpg DSCN2095.jpg (39.1 KB, 63 views)
File Type: jpg DSCN2096.jpg (33.9 KB, 61 views)
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