Unsolicited advice question

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Since you aren't a direct friend, I'd talk to your mutual friend and let him decide whether or not to communicate the information to the individual. Talking to the person may be just a waste of time.

In this day and age, there are a lot of folks who mistakenly believe, fervently believe, they have complete knowledge about a subject in discussion or what they are doing even when it's unsafe and goes against all common sense or knowledge.

[Myk Rian]

Express your concerns in questions, as if you want to build a deck..

Where did you get the plans?
Did the plans require screws, bolts, or nails?
How much weight will those joists carry?
Etc.

[Lee Schierer]

Since you aren't a direct friend, I'd talk to your mutual friend and let him decide whether or not to communicate the information to the individual. Talking to the person may be just a waste of time.

In this day and age, there are a lot of folks who mistakenly believe, fervently believe, they have complete knowledge about a subject in discussion or what they are doing even when it's unsafe and goes against all common sense or knowledge.

I agree......I wouldn't post anything on Face Book as it will only spin out of control for reasons noted by Ken.

[Keith Westfall]

If YOU got a message, email, phone call etc., about something you built, (in reference to a picture that ended up on the internet), would you give any weight to that contact or information? Of course not.

None of your business unless you are the building inspector for that area... You may or may not prevent any type of incident or accident, you will never know, unless someone posts it!

Sorry, but way to many armchair quarterbacks watching over everyone's shoulders.

[Frederick Skelly]

Charlie,
Unless you see something that you think will be unsafe, I'd keep it to myself. If it is unsafe, I'd ask your friend to talk with him as others have suggested.

FWIW,
Fred

[Charlie Velasquez]

Charlie,
Unless you see something that you think will be unsafe, I'd keep it to myself. If it is unsafe, I'd ask your friend to talk with him as others have suggested.

FWIW,
Fred

I was worried about what may happen later down the road. I thought if those nails failed that middle beam may force the joist to act like a see-saw or something. Went with this.
Couched it as, "Your friend is lucky, our inspector would have made me ....". He has a relationship established. The builder will take anything he says much more seriously than from an unknown.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I don't see why that situation would ever really need to be addressed, unless you were personally on his deck and it appeared to be unsafe/clearly a safety concern. Mind your business and bite your tongue

I built a deck off the front of my house that isn't 100% up to local code, but I thought long and hard about the choices I made, asked advice of people more knowledgeable than I (in the construction field, that I also work in), and in the end made the choice for myself and family. My issue had mostly to do with how I attached my ledger board to the hollow cinder block foundation on that side of the house. If someone was visiting me on my deck and I knew or perceived them to be more knowledgeable about construction than I, and they brought up a concern in a polite, constructive way then I would be a lot more receptive to that then what has been discussed in this thread (Facebook nonsense.)

[Todd Mason-Darnell]

I with "mentioning it to the friend" crowd. You can do it in a friendly way "I saw the pictures of X's deck. Looks great but he might have some problems with city inspectors or home inspectors if he tries to sell. I would be happy to offer some advice if he is interested"....

With the wonders of the internet, if the friend of the friend did not practice modern building practices, there is a good chance he does not care. By asking the friend, you are at least making a good faith effort.

[Bob Grier]

Degree of safety and risk is variable.

I guess a specific deck construction method could be considered nearly 100% safe against failure due to design load for a given number of years using specific materials, etc. specified by a code. Then again, how safe is it when subjected to twice the load or for longer time span or using different construction methods? What safety factor was used in developing the code and what factors were considered when developing the code. Do these factors apply to all locals and materials, maintenance, etc?

What is the risk factor considered by the code if a failure happens? If a complete failure happens to the deck in the picture, how far will it drop? Will there likely be a serious injury or fatality? How over designed or under designed is the deck? Are there more beam to post bolt connections than necessary? In other words, are the spans reduced below allowable and therefore less load on the bolt connections. Are the bolt connections true through bolt connections with large washers and correct diameter of bolts to not over stress the wood or are they lag screws?

There is a lot to consider when evaluating safety and risk when building something for people to stand on or take shelter under. Code is a good starting point but site specific conditions might also be considered.

Like some have mentioned, if you see a real safety issue, you should speak up. IMHOA code violation does not in itself mean a serious or even increased safety risk.