By Dennis Brooks
IS THAT BALCONY A DEATH TRAP?
stairs or out onto a balcony that there is no risk involved.
O And, of course, that’s
how we should feel, but after reading headlines like “2 Killed, 29 Hurt When Malibu Balcony Falls,” or “6 Dead, 7 Hurt in Berkeley Balcony Collapse” maybe we should think again. Accord- ing to the U.S. Consumer Product Safe- ty Commission’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System it is estimat- ed that over a five-year period 224,740 people were injured due to deck, porch or stairs accidents and of those 33,000 were “serious” injuries including head trauma, concussions, major fractures, and paralysis.
Te North American Deck and Rail- ing Association estimates half of the 40 million residential decks and 10 mil- lion commercial decks in the United States are more than 25 years old. Since most decks or balconies are continu- ally exposed to the elements, the actual expected life span is likely to be 10-15 years, depending on the materials and methods used and assuming that there
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kay, maybe that is a little extreme, but people have a reasonable expectation when they walk up a set of
is proper maintenance along the way. As these statistics demonstrate, this should be a serious issue for property owners or anyone involved in property management, considering the potential liability.
As construction management consul- tants we frequently encounter decks, balconies and stairs in homeowner associations that require substantial repairs and structural replacement, generally due to a lack of routine maintenance. On several occasions the balconies were such a hazard that city inspectors actually issued “red tag“ correction notices until a plan was put in place to make the repairs. On one project which was less than 10 years old homeowners had actually stepped through the cantilevered decks, which were 20 to 30 feet out over a hillside. Te original installation was improper and allowed water to become trapped within the structure.
In this case, and
likely the Berkeley collapse (see pho- tos), the damage that has occurred to the structural members may not be readily evident by a quick visual in- spection. Tat is where a trained and knowledgeable expert may be required
to make a thorough inspection of the balcony and all of the waterproof con- nections. Poor construction methods as well as lack of maintenance can lead to severe wood decay, which can occur in just a few years.
Another issue we see is dangerous stair conditions, either because they have started to rot and are not structurally sound or because they don’t meet the code requirements for the height or the width of the treads and risers and as a result thereby creating a tripping haz- ard. Stair handrails and balcony railings which have become loose due to dry rot and/or lack of proper attachment are another common safety concern.
Te good news is that structural failure of decks and balconies is preventable. If proper steps are taken (for the purpose of this article we will assume that the structure was properly designed and met all building codes at the time it was con- structed). Knowing that all structures have a defined life expectancy but do re- quire periodic maintenance, let’s look at what the proper course of action should be when managing a property that in- cludes decks, balconies or exterior stairs.
March / April 2017
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