Strong as the weakest link

[Raymond Wand]

No support posts, just the chain! And not sure how this was anchored under the soffit, my guess it was into the end of a rafter.

[John Kogel]

Raymond, that deck appears to be supporting the house pretty well! :)

I see the chain is adjustable, so they can take up the slack now and then. :)

[Eric Barker]

Good timing! This was in today's New Zealand Herald.

[Gunnar Alquist]

No support posts, just the chain! And not sure how this was anchored under the soffit, my guess it was into the end of a rafter.

Ray,

For all of your negativity, you clearly felt confident enough to walk out onto the balcony to take those pics. :D

[Randy Mayo]

Raymond

Although it is possible to support a cantilever deck by a chain or cable it is not typical. From an engineering standpoint the chain may be strong enough to hold up the load, but the issue I see is the design of the connections. It appears the upper part of the chain is connected to a wood screw type eye-bolt. The question is, what is the pullout capacity of the eye-bolt?

Also what is the other end of the chain connected to? This is a case where you should call this out as a possible safety issue and recommend this be evaluated by the building code inspector or structural engineer.

[Raymond Wand]

Don't know what the eye hooks were fasten to. Told clients to remove chain and install support posts, or to rebuild the deck the right way.

Cheers,