Thread: Craftsmanship

The roof deck from yesterday's inspection.

What is that 'pier' sitting on?

You gotta love air nailers, they leave a nice pattern...

Originally Posted by Nick Ostrowski

The roof deck from yesterday's inspection.

Originally Posted by Stephen G

What is that 'pier' sitting on?

You gotta love air nailers, they leave a nice pattern...

It's sitting on top of the parapet wall. The builder said the deck and roof are guaranteed.

Oooooook.

is that what he called himself, a builder? interesting...

I would like to see a copy of that warranty!

What is that, roll roofing? (I've done some building, but not a lot of flat roofs, and I'm not an HI) How is the post attached to the parapet? That's nuts! He thought that would pass as is?

Deck is secured down to nothing. It's weight is holding it down. I will say that we had hurricane Irene roll through and the deck was there at the time and appears to have gone nowhere.

The builder said it was inspected by the City of Philadelphia and passed. ?????????

Nick, Thank you for including the photos. For a moment I thought you were going to refer to an old form of craftsmanship, one that I seldom recognize anymore simply because its been so long since I've seen it.

Originally Posted by Nick Ostrowski

Deck is secured down to nothing. It's weight is holding it down. I will say that we had hurricane Irene roll through and the deck was there at the time and appears to have gone nowhere.

The builder said it was inspected by the City of Philadelphia and passed. ?????????

Why does it seem we spend soo much time trying to build things safely and correctly and someone builds something like that and a hurricane goes through and it's fine. Go figure

Nick, I think Hurricane Irene played a bigger role in this deck's craftsmanship than you realize. Upon careful inspection of your interesting photos, I have concluded that the missing supports were blown away by Irene. I further conclude, that the deck must have come apart completely, and was quickly re-assembled with many joists, etc in the wrong locations. This can be confirmed by the gaps, short cut rim joist, etc. I believe these gaps and 'cut too short' framing members are due to the need for those great 'pier blocks' that must have been cut from the framing. Actually, a pretty good job considering it must have been salvaged from total destruction. Oh, and note to 'builder,' your nail gun just might have a depth adjustment on it. Or maybe it was left on the deck when the Hurricane hit?
Curt Downs Licensed HIC CT

Can't say I agree with your autopsy assessment Curt. I think it's just crap work.

"Oh, and note to 'builder,' your nail gun just might have a depth adjustment on it."

Seems like the problem with the nails is more that the wrong type was used. The heads of common nails (16 p preferrably) would not go so deep, and not have the same potential for pull-through. Judging by the discoloration around the holes, they might not even be galvanized - a no-no with pressure treated wood.

Good call on the nails Kristi. A true 'crapsmanship' job.