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WASHINGTON - 5 INJURED |
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Five people were injured when the deck collapsed at this Westport home. |
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Westport deck collapse injures five
05:49 PM PDT on Sunday, April 19, 2009
By KING Staff
WESTPORT, Wash. - Five people were taken to the hospital after an elevated deck collapsed in Grays Harbor County.
 Authorities say a group of people was on the deck in Westport on Saturday night when it fell.
The deck was about 20 feet off the ground.
Two of the five injured were transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Police don't know how many people were on the deck when it collapsed. |
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| Benefit for victims of deck collapse |
By
Katherine Sather
June 2, 2009 3:53 PM |
It sounds like a nightmare. Earlier this spring, during a late-night party at a Westport beach house, the second floor deck collapsed and dropped 16 people to the ground. Here is a photo: |
The incident happened at 10 minutes to midnight, and caused multiple injuries including two broken backs, a cracked pelvis, broken collarbones and numerous cracked ribs, according to a witness who wrote into KING5.com today. Media reports said the inspector found dry rot on the deck, which can cause structural weakness. While everyone is recovering, they say medical bills are piling up. So the community of Westport is raising money. A fundraiser is planned on June 20 at the Mermaid Deli and Pub, and donations are being accepted at PO Box 2783, Westport, Wash., 98595. |
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It'd be nice to know WHY it failed?! I bet a dollar it was due to improper ledger connection to the house. So many people think you can just nail the ledger to the rim (house) w/o lag screws and thats enough - wrong. Another big mistake; holes for lags are not pre-drilled which causes the wood to split when the lags are driven down tight. If they are not staggered its even worse. As a code certified bldg inspector let me say that decks built 20' off the ground are just as safe as 2' off - as long as they are built correctly. The 4x4 (or 4x6) posts are more than sufficient to carry the load and probably the one strongests parts of the construction. The weak link is the ledger; it doesnt matter how well the rest is built if the ledger is substandard. If the builders and inspectors were doing their jobs properly this wouldnt happen. |
You can tell by looking at it that GixxerGirl is right. The ledger failed and then the deck fell and posts folded up neatly 'underneath' (or next to) the deck. |
amandakblair: Glad to hear you were not hurt badly and the injuries were not worse. Do you know if the deck was moved after the collapse or did it look just as in the pic after it fell? Once again, very glad you were not hurt!! |
Look at the picture Big R.. There is NO way it could have fallen that way. It had to have been leaned up against the house after is collapsed. |
Yeah I see what you mean but I'm not so sure it couldnt have. How (and why) would they lift it up and stand it against the house? You'd think they leave it the same for investigation or something? I think it could easily fall & pull the posts & pier pads up against it like that. But I dont know, you may be right again!? Now, if you had an R1 - then I'd have to agree with you! heheheh just kidding, GSXR's are sweet too, my 2nd choice. Cheers |
Thats a second story deck, some one give the reporter a tape measure, 10 feet max. The Ledger board pulled away from the house, this is why we have building codes and inspections, that way, our contractors do quality work and protects us from lawsuits |
I just spoke to the bldg inspector in Wesport and yes - it was the ledger that failed. (imporoper connection to the house) And yes - it did fall exactly as it is shown in pics, it hasnt been moved at all. Just as I wondered, the deck pulled the piers out of the ground and the posts along with it and it all folded up neatly. That is just too much.... |
@Big R: I wonder if they used that LedgerLok stuff. Cause I see those at Home Depot and they are approved to use... but the whole idea of relying on such a small screw with it's "no pre-drilling" guarantee really irks me. |
Apparently they used stainless lags spaced roughly 4 to 6 foot on center and they were not even driven into a rim board, just over the Hardie siding & into OSB. Doesnt matter what you use without some 'meat' for it to grab. I actually reccomend the Ledger-Loc screws but mostly because of the "no pre-drill" claim. It has been tested & listed for that installation w/o drilling so I guess we have to trust that listing. But I agree, the size is not very reassuring at all. We normally require that lags or ledger locs are installed about 6 inches (sometimes tighter) on center in a staggered pattern. (up/down & so on) Spacing can be further with bigger diameter fasteners. There is a fine line between a safe amount and too many - too many loc screws/lags are you are tearing up the wood member with too many.... Thats my 2cents |
@Big R: Well, seemingly they weren't cheap about it, since they used SS... they were just careless and missed the rim board, eh? I wish some contractors would be more careful when it comes to these things.
I betcha the guy was using a impact driver, which took away from the tool feel opposed to if he tightened it by hand or a corded drill. If he was using a drill, he would of felt the lack of torque needed to zip the lag in. Or maybe they never cared. |
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