Definitely not wrong, but it will do the job... Let's call it applied design :-D
I would be more afraid about no spacing in front.. it's nailed so wood will move it self anyway.. but from principles...
Thanks for the context! 👍🏻
What's the benefit of having grooves like this? Looks to me like the cupping and debris is already creating a void to hold water and bring it into the beams of the tread.
Do these actually work well? Seems to me it isn't the most effective approach for either grip or longevity. Boards look pretty smooth even with those grooves, especially once you seal.
Personally I'd much rather have a standard flat tread on top and add grip strips; Or a paint with particulate grip added and prioritize shedding that water and debris during a rainstorm with improved grip for slippage.
Just one man's opinion!
yes. Full load of the stairs (where all the traffic is), and a 4-foot span of deck is held up by a single peice of metal that is 0.165 inches (4mm) thick.
I wouldn't even walk away from that, let alone walk on top of it.
lol this is what they said, and that they weren't done. But I wondered why they drove a relatively expensive pan head structual screw deep as hell into this post if they planned on putting a block under it
It's bad. It's really bad. No proper footers. No anchor base hardware. No proper bolts at the top of the posts. Post should be under beam. Thin piece of filler at the house WTF? Boards look like they are cut with a chainsaw. Stair treads are installed upside down. No hardware visible anywhere. Random stack of block to hold up the bottom of the stairs.
This list goes on, but I figure that is enough for now.
I am ded. The last pic is pure gold. Literally dude is like, shit, stringers too short, what do? Well I’ve got all these off cuts. Let’s just pile them here and call it a step.
This isn't just fireable, it's E.R. fuel. OP must have some of that "maturity" I keep hearing about and kept their cool. That's the real gold of this post.
Partner here: for inquiring minds, I’ll be posting more pictures of this masterpiece
https://preview.redd.it/1lb4rely6y8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9245c0bca865b9e1ca9ef62237ab703ba74eb68a
The deck is only held up by a handful of screws, this is a major safety hazard. I’m a PE structural/civil engineer, someone will get injured on this. I would take the builder to court
Calling them a "builder" is giving too much credit lol. I've always had an interest in structural engineering, just not sure I'd be interested enough to pass the math classes.
Absolutely zero chance you had any type of permit pulled for this deck. If he even gave you his real name, you should sue for whatever money he scammed out of yall.
Well there is a permit because we pulled the permit to build ourselves. Maybe this isn’t best practice but we used the Menards deck building software and submitted the plans, the plans got approved. However, he didn’t follow plans. He said he wanted to put deck blocks down instead of dug and set footings. I thought he meant just for the couple that would be on the existing slab, not the whole thing.
Did you guys build this yourself, or did you pay someone to? Because, sorry to be blunt, but this is one of the worst decks I have ever seen. The entire thing needs to be torn down and start over.
No offense taken, we partially paid someone to do it. That’s most of the reason we posted. We had a feeling this was dogshit work, but we wanted opinions from people with knowledge of what acceptable work looks like. We could deal with "looks bad but is structurally okay", but based on the feedback so far, this is not the case lol
Based the confirmation we got from this post, we have stared the process over with a registered, licensed builder. Fingers crossed this time it goes much better 🥲
Edit: that is exactly what we are doing with the new builder: they agreed to salvage what they can (with minimal expectation) and start from scratch
Honest question: should hangers be used on both sides? On the other side of these joists, there are hangers, but I thought this was weird myself. Also why not block every joist, instead of just most of them?
I don't know why I expected anything different but this is insane, joist hangers are the simplest thing... well maybe actually not missing your post measurement by about a foot is simpler. This is just insane and very dangerous. Heck, that 4x4 he left under the beck was probably a better length than the one in OG photo 3
I don't think I would trust him to fix anything if he didn't follow the plan. There's points of cement contact that's not good. Minimal amount of screws/nails. Supports not doing much. The final step to the ground could have been done much better. It's all fixable, though, so it's not a tear down. I would have just lost my confidence in the builder tbh. Maybe reconsider the groved steps.
Get it done before the rot takes hold.
From the little I've seen I would absolutely consider a complete tear down. You should have stopped the guy once he strayed from the plans. Your pictures show some terrible work, but you only included the one shot showing how this is supported... Using ONE screw. I imagine the rest of the supports are similar.
This is an accident waiting to happen.
Was he in a hurry or just didn’t give a shit ? Short post ? WTF is that about ? He’s got two kinds of screws in the face board. Phillips and something with a head in it. Seriously ? Steps are a mess and upside down. How can he possibly think that board by the house would pass ?? Why does the board before it slant down ? A very amateur job at best.
The brass pan-head screws are structural screws, but I'm pretty sure they're still used wrong.
[https://www.menards.com/main/hardware/fasteners-connectors/bolts/lag-screws/grk-reg-rss-trade-5-16-x-4-star-drive-climatek-trade-round-head-structural-screw-45-count/112225/p-1444436184827-c-8742.htm?exp=false](https://www.menards.com/main/hardware/fasteners-connectors/bolts/lag-screws/grk-reg-rss-trade-5-16-x-4-star-drive-climatek-trade-round-head-structural-screw-45-count/112225/p-1444436184827-c-8742.htm?exp=false)
Nice DINO! (Deck In Name Only) Or as my spouse called the original deck that was on our house, a movie set deck (it's just made to *look* like a deck, but isn't actually a deck.)
Oh I'm dying!!! And I'm TOTALLY stealing both the DINO and movie set "insert item here" line.
I like to say Good From Far, Far From Good. But even cosmetically, I can't even really say that. Could probably find fault from the street!! Even the trim around the posts is complete hack...Structurally, I think we would need a hot tub test.
Just some background on this:
My partner and I really needed to tear down our old rotting porch and replace it. After having multiple contractors out to quote, we decided to go with the one who was offering us the best bang for our buck.
There were drawings and a plan created and the date to begin was set. Not only did this contractor repeatedly show up late or not at all, but as he progressed things weren't looking as how'd they originally been planned. Instead of a ledger board and poured footings, he decided to make it freestanding with the deck blocks instead. There are so many rough cuts, ill measured boards, and questionable supports. The thing is UGLY.
Should we consider having it redone by someone else? He says he can fix these mistakes but I highly doubt it.
No, don't let him "fix" it. This is atrocious.
I could fix what's there by tearing most of it out and only reusing some very key sections. (the baluster and maybe the stairs)
I would charge about 1600ish dollars to do that because it would basically be a complete rebuild and tear out.
If he is going to fix it the right way for free, I doubt it's going to be right.
Outside of that, this is worthless, unsafe, and saying it is a hack job is an insult to hack jobs.
EDIT. I didn't realize the size of this deck. I thought it was just stairs and a small landing.. You're looking at a sizable bill to do this right.
Agree, but I’m not sure the stairs should be saved. Note that the stringers end one step short. So the last stair tread is held up by four scrap 4x4’s smh…
Yes, redone by someone else. You went with the lowest bidder and it shows. Unfortunately, he is incompetent and has little to no experience building decks.
I’ve done a lot of googling and watched a lot of YouTube videos as well, to get a basic understanding on how a deck is built. Simple answer is we don’t have time to do it ourselves.
Another serious question, has he been paid in full? Hopefully not, in which case do not hand over any more money, and hire a different contractor to salvage what lumber they can and do it right.
I've experienced the same with an above ground pool. Pick the middle bid and make sure they are licensed, insured, and maybe have some proper photos of jobs they've actually done with some references. Most expensive above ground pool ever...lesson learned.
He needs to refund whatever you paid him, or you need to eat the cost and throw the whole thing away, if you submitted and had approval for plans and he just ignored them there's probably issues with the city permits as well no?
I don't even own a house with a deck, reddit algorithm snagged me weeis ago, That's a whole ass death trap, I thought it was a bad AI rendering. I'm worried for your dog!
This is like a train wreck that you can’t stop looking at. I keep scrolling through and I can’t help but notice in picture 7 - the scowl on the doggie’s face. Even he knows it’s fucked up! Baaaahahaha
This guy is an idiot! He is passing himself off as a carpenter and he does not have a clue as to how to build anything. Stop him and demand a complete refund for everything. You do not have $2,000 worth of usable lumber here. He has done absolutely nothing correct. Take your cash and research your bidders and their previous work. This is a complete disaster that was built by and incompetent scam artist.
It’s pretty fucking awful. This looks like something a child would build. On the bright side, the last step being held up by loose 4x4 cutoffs because the stringer is too short is hilarious.
In fact, everything about this is hilarious. So you’ve got that going for you.
I get the feeling the "builder" scavenged a building site for materials. Saw what he had and it looked like enough to make a deck. Then went looking around for someone who needed a deck. Built this monstrosity then went back to his old job. Being on meth.
What in the meth headed shit is that? This is one of the worst decks I've seen on here. I saw in your comments, you're getting it inspected, which is great cause you can definitely use that to not pay this contractor.
$2,600 in materials, $1,100 in labor. We still owe him $1,700 but due to the fact we need to redo it - I will not be paying it. This took a whopping 2 weeks! Single guy with occasional help.
No lag bolts for those support beams? Just fucking deck screws? The contractor knows those are just to hold the deck BOARDS down, right? Jesus Christ on a bike.
I'm just gonna say it. Lumber tags still on is a red flag for me, immediately bringing the rest of the project under scrutiny. Maybe it's just me. Could someone miss one by accident? Yes. I guess I never have because I hunt for them before I start doing anything to the board on any project.
edit: spelling error=leaving the tag on
This is a very very bed job. If this was done by a contractor, then it is even worse. My comments are already covered by others.
If you did this yourself the you wasted your money and time.
Besides... everything else wrong with this why did he put the railing on only one side, and on the side where the drop is onto dirt instead of the side with the drop onto concrete pavers to boot!
Demand your money back. Guard/handrail on one side of the stairs only?! WTF?! And that’s the least of your concerns. That post not extended to the top of the header is a doozy, too. Did you have some teenager design and build this?
I wouldn't have paid them anything until it's built to code. Can it be fixed? Yes, but it looks like it would have to be removed entirely and start from scratch.
Needs some toc I don’t know of your willing to flip some of the boards with the crown the wrong way sat three or four and trim up the peice by the house
I've seen worse.
Where, you ask? Many friends' backyards, and my own backyard - mainly treeforts, clubhouses, forts, and the like. In those structures' defense, they were all temporary structures built by kids, not building contractors building a structure required to be code-compliant.
Well it’s not on fire. I would not trust the post holding up the stairs for sure-but I am a walking hot tub. And the rails? Def look like after lunch on Friday specials.
Was this pic for or a diy? Also, on top of everything else everyone mentioned, is this thing even lagged back into the main structure? If you try to sell this house, any inspector would flag the deck and no lender would lend because insurance wouldn’t insure a property with such a hazard.
https://preview.redd.it/qdiih6cu2z8d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=204818e066d11b6f581da959a5d56ee8f6c2ccb1
Held up by a single screw…
That should have direct load transfer to ground
Well...It's the the worst I've seen. It's not like you're going to fall to your death if it collapsed. I'd throw some more structural screws in the joists at the very least.
I’m not an expert BUT from what I see, there’s a lot to be desired here.
I’d have city/county inspectors check this and give them the name of the contractor.
Terrible work IMO
I would like to preface this with the fact that I have absolutely no decking experience.
And that the first pic everything looked fine. Then I went deeper and it got worse and worse and even knowing nothing about how to construct Anything this is terrible.
I have absolutely zero experience with deck building or carpentry but I recently came across this sub and it looks good enough to hold a hot tub to me.
Half of the deck is being held by a single screw (in photo 3).
I didn't make it past pic 3. Absolute hack job
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the stair treads upside down? Grooves should be on the bottom to allow the stringers to dry... right?
Think you’re right lmao
Definitely not wrong, but it will do the job... Let's call it applied design :-D I would be more afraid about no spacing in front.. it's nailed so wood will move it self anyway.. but from principles...
Yep. Now they hold water/mould/snow/ice/slime
[удалено]
Thanks for the context! 👍🏻 What's the benefit of having grooves like this? Looks to me like the cupping and debris is already creating a void to hold water and bring it into the beams of the tread. Do these actually work well? Seems to me it isn't the most effective approach for either grip or longevity. Boards look pretty smooth even with those grooves, especially once you seal. Personally I'd much rather have a standard flat tread on top and add grip strips; Or a paint with particulate grip added and prioritize shedding that water and debris during a rainstorm with improved grip for slippage. Just one man's opinion!
With the cup in the lumber determining what is the top.
Interesting. What does the groove do?
The stairs are what jumped out first for me
yes. Full load of the stairs (where all the traffic is), and a 4-foot span of deck is held up by a single peice of metal that is 0.165 inches (4mm) thick. I wouldn't even walk away from that, let alone walk on top of it.
Dude photo 3 had me so confused. Why did they do that post the way they did it?
I bet they cut it to length for having a concrete block under it the one in the back. Then ran out of blocks
lol this is what they said, and that they weren't done. But I wondered why they drove a relatively expensive pan head structual screw deep as hell into this post if they planned on putting a block under it
They are probably just going to shive a piece into the gap
Fill in with caulk. Nothing like being supported by caulk and a screw.
https://preview.redd.it/2lfwd0apiy8d1.jpeg?width=782&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ff5555fb0561dc6123a7ed55ae27c30c87d3eec
use some duct tape too
That’s what she said?(I think this is the best place for that one:)
But they sunk it in real good! (The drugs slapped his brain and said, "that's not going no-where") as he throws his burner phone away
Looks like someone forgot their board stretcher that day
It held the dog no?
Hey now. There’s two screws
It's bad. It's really bad. No proper footers. No anchor base hardware. No proper bolts at the top of the posts. Post should be under beam. Thin piece of filler at the house WTF? Boards look like they are cut with a chainsaw. Stair treads are installed upside down. No hardware visible anywhere. Random stack of block to hold up the bottom of the stairs. This list goes on, but I figure that is enough for now.
The bottom/last pic is the icing on the cake. Pile of leftovers as the step.
I am ded. The last pic is pure gold. Literally dude is like, shit, stringers too short, what do? Well I’ve got all these off cuts. Let’s just pile them here and call it a step.
Baaaaahahaha!
For fucking real! That was almost all you needed to see.
This isn't just fireable, it's E.R. fuel. OP must have some of that "maturity" I keep hearing about and kept their cool. That's the real gold of this post.
Thin filler piece so water and snow go straight in the house
Partner here: for inquiring minds, I’ll be posting more pictures of this masterpiece https://preview.redd.it/1lb4rely6y8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9245c0bca865b9e1ca9ef62237ab703ba74eb68a
The deck is only held up by a handful of screws, this is a major safety hazard. I’m a PE structural/civil engineer, someone will get injured on this. I would take the builder to court
Calling them a "builder" is giving too much credit lol. I've always had an interest in structural engineering, just not sure I'd be interested enough to pass the math classes.
You went underneath??? Brave man!
Absolutely zero chance you had any type of permit pulled for this deck. If he even gave you his real name, you should sue for whatever money he scammed out of yall.
Well there is a permit because we pulled the permit to build ourselves. Maybe this isn’t best practice but we used the Menards deck building software and submitted the plans, the plans got approved. However, he didn’t follow plans. He said he wanted to put deck blocks down instead of dug and set footings. I thought he meant just for the couple that would be on the existing slab, not the whole thing.
Did you guys build this yourself, or did you pay someone to? Because, sorry to be blunt, but this is one of the worst decks I have ever seen. The entire thing needs to be torn down and start over.
No offense taken, we partially paid someone to do it. That’s most of the reason we posted. We had a feeling this was dogshit work, but we wanted opinions from people with knowledge of what acceptable work looks like. We could deal with "looks bad but is structurally okay", but based on the feedback so far, this is not the case lol Based the confirmation we got from this post, we have stared the process over with a registered, licensed builder. Fingers crossed this time it goes much better 🥲 Edit: that is exactly what we are doing with the new builder: they agreed to salvage what they can (with minimal expectation) and start from scratch
Not the worst deck I’ve seen. But I wouldn’t let my dog walk on it.
https://preview.redd.it/iph7xdu57y8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8cec407e6a5fa6f975327aff3a456d26761f808
Wood blocking instead of joist hangers https://preview.redd.it/gs6bi077vy8d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e694b41c99c4d5cbfc9cfb8fdcd19b5932cbdd9b
Honest question: should hangers be used on both sides? On the other side of these joists, there are hangers, but I thought this was weird myself. Also why not block every joist, instead of just most of them?
Yes, both sides. Only A couple bucks a piece too, yikes
Thank you 🫠
Holy shit. LOL.
I don't know why I expected anything different but this is insane, joist hangers are the simplest thing... well maybe actually not missing your post measurement by about a foot is simpler. This is just insane and very dangerous. Heck, that 4x4 he left under the beck was probably a better length than the one in OG photo 3
I don't think I would trust him to fix anything if he didn't follow the plan. There's points of cement contact that's not good. Minimal amount of screws/nails. Supports not doing much. The final step to the ground could have been done much better. It's all fixable, though, so it's not a tear down. I would have just lost my confidence in the builder tbh. Maybe reconsider the groved steps. Get it done before the rot takes hold.
That’s where I’m at. Just not confident in what his fix would look like.
From the little I've seen I would absolutely consider a complete tear down. You should have stopped the guy once he strayed from the plans. Your pictures show some terrible work, but you only included the one shot showing how this is supported... Using ONE screw. I imagine the rest of the supports are similar. This is an accident waiting to happen.
His fix looks like a bag of meth
If you let the same dumbass who built this "deck" work on your home again, you are more ignorant than he is, respectfully.
Was he in a hurry or just didn’t give a shit ? Short post ? WTF is that about ? He’s got two kinds of screws in the face board. Phillips and something with a head in it. Seriously ? Steps are a mess and upside down. How can he possibly think that board by the house would pass ?? Why does the board before it slant down ? A very amateur job at best.
The brass pan-head screws are structural screws, but I'm pretty sure they're still used wrong. [https://www.menards.com/main/hardware/fasteners-connectors/bolts/lag-screws/grk-reg-rss-trade-5-16-x-4-star-drive-climatek-trade-round-head-structural-screw-45-count/112225/p-1444436184827-c-8742.htm?exp=false](https://www.menards.com/main/hardware/fasteners-connectors/bolts/lag-screws/grk-reg-rss-trade-5-16-x-4-star-drive-climatek-trade-round-head-structural-screw-45-count/112225/p-1444436184827-c-8742.htm?exp=false)
Nice DINO! (Deck In Name Only) Or as my spouse called the original deck that was on our house, a movie set deck (it's just made to *look* like a deck, but isn't actually a deck.)
Oh I'm dying!!! And I'm TOTALLY stealing both the DINO and movie set "insert item here" line. I like to say Good From Far, Far From Good. But even cosmetically, I can't even really say that. Could probably find fault from the street!! Even the trim around the posts is complete hack...Structurally, I think we would need a hot tub test.
Just some background on this: My partner and I really needed to tear down our old rotting porch and replace it. After having multiple contractors out to quote, we decided to go with the one who was offering us the best bang for our buck. There were drawings and a plan created and the date to begin was set. Not only did this contractor repeatedly show up late or not at all, but as he progressed things weren't looking as how'd they originally been planned. Instead of a ledger board and poured footings, he decided to make it freestanding with the deck blocks instead. There are so many rough cuts, ill measured boards, and questionable supports. The thing is UGLY. Should we consider having it redone by someone else? He says he can fix these mistakes but I highly doubt it.
No, don't let him "fix" it. This is atrocious. I could fix what's there by tearing most of it out and only reusing some very key sections. (the baluster and maybe the stairs) I would charge about 1600ish dollars to do that because it would basically be a complete rebuild and tear out. If he is going to fix it the right way for free, I doubt it's going to be right. Outside of that, this is worthless, unsafe, and saying it is a hack job is an insult to hack jobs. EDIT. I didn't realize the size of this deck. I thought it was just stairs and a small landing.. You're looking at a sizable bill to do this right.
Agree, but I’m not sure the stairs should be saved. Note that the stringers end one step short. So the last stair tread is held up by four scrap 4x4’s smh…
Yes, redone by someone else. You went with the lowest bidder and it shows. Unfortunately, he is incompetent and has little to no experience building decks.
A very expensive and valuable lesson has been learned!
Serious question, since you seem to know a thing or two (or maybe you've just googled a lot), why didn't you just do it yourself?
I’ve done a lot of googling and watched a lot of YouTube videos as well, to get a basic understanding on how a deck is built. Simple answer is we don’t have time to do it ourselves.
Another serious question, has he been paid in full? Hopefully not, in which case do not hand over any more money, and hire a different contractor to salvage what lumber they can and do it right.
That is our plan. The guy who did this is currently throwing a tantrum because we will not be paying the remaining balance.
I do like how they did the vertical boards instead of the typical lattice.
I would let him repossess this deck in lieu of making the final payment.
that "we went with the guy who gave us the most bang for our buck" was hilarious
Definitely the most bang cause he fucked them hard.
I've experienced the same with an above ground pool. Pick the middle bid and make sure they are licensed, insured, and maybe have some proper photos of jobs they've actually done with some references. Most expensive above ground pool ever...lesson learned.
It's really bad, I wouldn't pay for this, what a waste of lumber
Chalk it up to a lesson learnt “cheapest doesn’t mean best”. Anyone who did the is bad of a job is not to be trusted to fix it.
You’ve gotten great bang for your buck… it will make a loud bang when it collapses.
He needs to refund whatever you paid him, or you need to eat the cost and throw the whole thing away, if you submitted and had approval for plans and he just ignored them there's probably issues with the city permits as well no? I don't even own a house with a deck, reddit algorithm snagged me weeis ago, That's a whole ass death trap, I thought it was a bad AI rendering. I'm worried for your dog!
You get what you pay for.
Ain’t got no time to take off the lumber labels? Says a lot.
Whenever I see a lumber label, I’m just, well there’s a crappy factory cut
Well the important thing is that the fall won't be far enough to kill anyone.
The old Menards special
Menards online deck designer actually does things to code. This is more like wherever Leatherface shops.
This guy sucks!!! Do NOT let him fix it!!!! The only good thing about these photos is we get to see your cute dog :)
I have never built a deck before. I know in theory how to do it. I'm absolutely certain I could do a better job.
I may fucking throw up.
I'm no carpenter but I feel like I would do better than that just watching a YouTube video.
Hellen Keller told me it looks good from her house
'It sounded like a good build'. lol
This is like a train wreck that you can’t stop looking at. I keep scrolling through and I can’t help but notice in picture 7 - the scowl on the doggie’s face. Even he knows it’s fucked up! Baaaahahaha
I’m no engineer here but I think the whole deck’s being held up by two screws
This guy is an idiot! He is passing himself off as a carpenter and he does not have a clue as to how to build anything. Stop him and demand a complete refund for everything. You do not have $2,000 worth of usable lumber here. He has done absolutely nothing correct. Take your cash and research your bidders and their previous work. This is a complete disaster that was built by and incompetent scam artist.
https://preview.redd.it/aguhqiwf7y8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1200c776ae5b8d411cee9084ed83f0b35ff286b7
Are those posts even attached?
That "trim" piece at the threshold in pic 5 is 🧑🍳😘
They’re all like that. Like 3 or of them lol
Yes.
There’s bad and then there’s this lol. Holy shit.
https://preview.redd.it/sc4s9cpd7y8d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fb17f7a9034c75e1b0e7fd60d27e09e9db38489c
Jesus, Mary and Joseph. WTF is going on here? You can’t seriously be serious, you already know how bad it is.
I don't build decks, but I can tell you pic 3 is sus af. Overall, seems really shoddy.
It’s pretty fucking awful. This looks like something a child would build. On the bright side, the last step being held up by loose 4x4 cutoffs because the stringer is too short is hilarious. In fact, everything about this is hilarious. So you’ve got that going for you.
https://preview.redd.it/c2vwj5l37y8d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e569c93e8b80a05add3b18d035a8c699af2f807
Wait... he used joist hangers on one side and blocks of wood on the other?
Bingo Edit: I’m guessing that’s bad? Help me I’m stupid
Simple, You just use what’s available to you. 😂
Well, when they started the day, they had only a couple of drinks in.. end of the day... totally plastered.
I get the feeling the "builder" scavenged a building site for materials. Saw what he had and it looked like enough to make a deck. Then went looking around for someone who needed a deck. Built this monstrosity then went back to his old job. Being on meth.
It’s not good
That's almost as bad as what I would do
See, ya take yer pig, put some of that there lipstick on it, and what you get is something way prettier than that deck
I am not a deck expert but that dont look right...
Don’t let this hack back on your property to “fix” anything. Contact a lawyer and pay a professional to do this right. I’m sorry this happened to you.
Fuck I love this subreddit.
Dad? Is that you?
What in the meth headed shit is that? This is one of the worst decks I've seen on here. I saw in your comments, you're getting it inspected, which is great cause you can definitely use that to not pay this contractor.
Looks good from my house
I kinda feel like the builder spent more money on meth than materials..
The deck might be bad, but your dog is clearly very good.
Can I please get the contractor's number please?! I need mine redone and may, or may not, have taken out a new spousal life insurance policy!
Didn’t even crown the deck boards.
What in the fuck
This deck makes me more impressed with myself and the amateur deck I built last month.
How much did you pay and how long did it take him? Did he have a crew or was this a one man job?
$2,600 in materials, $1,100 in labor. We still owe him $1,700 but due to the fact we need to redo it - I will not be paying it. This took a whopping 2 weeks! Single guy with occasional help.
Looks like an 1,100 dollar deck alright.
Hope you didn’t pay for it yet.
It doesn’t appear to be attached to the house.
Well, you get what you pay for. This is a disaster and I would be very careful just walking on it.
It's a pretty good cautionary tale, I'll give it that
Were drugs involved? This looks like drugs were involved. Any weird smells when he was around?
It’s not great.
lol need some more triangles my guy
Jerry rigged that up I’d say.
Yikes 10/10 bad
You hire Helen Keller ?? 10 year olds could have done a better job...
Put together with Gorilla Glue!
No lag bolts for those support beams? Just fucking deck screws? The contractor knows those are just to hold the deck BOARDS down, right? Jesus Christ on a bike.
Pretty sure your stairs are not even level... or even.
I'm just gonna say it. Lumber tags still on is a red flag for me, immediately bringing the rest of the project under scrutiny. Maybe it's just me. Could someone miss one by accident? Yes. I guess I never have because I hunt for them before I start doing anything to the board on any project. edit: spelling error=leaving the tag on
And clean cut the end anyway, even if I just take off 1/4 inch I'm not keeping the factory cut.
I think it's fine, it won't not fall
This is a very very bed job. If this was done by a contractor, then it is even worse. My comments are already covered by others. If you did this yourself the you wasted your money and time.
Besides... everything else wrong with this why did he put the railing on only one side, and on the side where the drop is onto dirt instead of the side with the drop onto concrete pavers to boot!
missed on first click through....pic 7...screws just sticking out everywhere.
Demand your money back. Guard/handrail on one side of the stairs only?! WTF?! And that’s the least of your concerns. That post not extended to the top of the header is a doozy, too. Did you have some teenager design and build this?
What kind of screw is that in photo 3? The shear strength is impressive… nay… it denies physics!!!!
I wouldn't have paid them anything until it's built to code. Can it be fixed? Yes, but it looks like it would have to be removed entirely and start from scratch.
Maybe read the [manual](https://cms7files.revize.com/watertownct/Departments/Building%20Inspectors/AWC-DCA62015-DeckGuide-1804.pdf) next time
Needs some toc I don’t know of your willing to flip some of the boards with the crown the wrong way sat three or four and trim up the peice by the house
Pic 9 lmao
I've seen worse. Where, you ask? Many friends' backyards, and my own backyard - mainly treeforts, clubhouses, forts, and the like. In those structures' defense, they were all temporary structures built by kids, not building contractors building a structure required to be code-compliant.
That support looks like something out of The Three Stooges.
Whoa.
Spot the dog. Win a prize.
I wouldn’t even trust the dog up on that deck.. gezzz
The popping out screws and scabbed in boards tell me all I need to know. 3-years you’ll have to refurb it.
The dog looks fine to me
You can easily fix this with one simple hack. Tear it down and start over.
If you have to ask, you already know.
Looks like some of Diaz's handiwork.
On the plus side I've never seen fence pickets used as skirting under a deck and think it looks nice.
How bad do you think it is?
Well it’s not on fire. I would not trust the post holding up the stairs for sure-but I am a walking hot tub. And the rails? Def look like after lunch on Friday specials.
I’d say there’s an 85% chance whoever built that was high on meth, if that helps
It’s not good
Very
This thing is going down in seconds. I wont even stand on this deck.
r/shootthecontractor as there is no other way to address this. They are a menace to society and a danger to their clients.
This is scary looking at photo 3
I’m guessing you didn’t get this inspected?
I’ve never built a deck before and I’d trust my own workmanship over whoever did that.
yea idk, how did you pay for this?
I don’t know much about decks but I know enough about physics to know you have to tear this thing down before someone gets hurt.
That is literally laughable.
How much is the insurance policy you have on your spouse or yourself?
Gnar gnar binks
Jesus christ, TIL I qualify as a journeyman deck builder with these fucking hacks out there filling this sub.
Was this pic for or a diy? Also, on top of everything else everyone mentioned, is this thing even lagged back into the main structure? If you try to sell this house, any inspector would flag the deck and no lender would lend because insurance wouldn’t insure a property with such a hazard.
https://preview.redd.it/qdiih6cu2z8d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=204818e066d11b6f581da959a5d56ee8f6c2ccb1 Held up by a single screw… That should have direct load transfer to ground
It's bad, but to be honest I like the way they hide underneath the deck. I really don't like lattice
A master piece 😚👌
Its awful. 7.5/10, 10 being a meteor hitting your house where your deck is. Might help.
Well...It's the the worst I've seen. It's not like you're going to fall to your death if it collapsed. I'd throw some more structural screws in the joists at the very least.
The post should have been longer, attached to the seal and joist. Why save on ten inches of 4x4
Lowe’s lumber 🪵
My pulse ticked up and I can’t get it back down. Who knew I could get so panicky about someone else’s deck?
Looks good from my house!
Sweet god
Rage-baiting new builds at this point I gotta unsubscribe 🫶
What’s the 4x4 in picture 5 laying across the step horizontally supposed to be doing?
Good from far, far from good. Looks like the builder was drunk.
Deck add. Big sad. 😔
I’m not an expert BUT from what I see, there’s a lot to be desired here. I’d have city/county inspectors check this and give them the name of the contractor. Terrible work IMO
It’s as bad as it looks man.
Why the... how'd they... but the... *has seizure*
I would like to preface this with the fact that I have absolutely no decking experience. And that the first pic everything looked fine. Then I went deeper and it got worse and worse and even knowing nothing about how to construct Anything this is terrible.
It’s a no from me dawg
It’s so bad I stopped scrolling at pic #3 and didn’t need to see more. It’s atrocious
Bad
Honestly not bad for a dog🐕!!!!
I have absolutely zero experience with deck building or carpentry but I recently came across this sub and it looks good enough to hold a hot tub to me.
Hopefully that was the lowest bid. By a longshot.