I have recently moved into a new house with a couple of mates. It is a fairly recently renovated Queenslander, with a large L shaped deck out the back. It is on a fairly steep slope, and we are quite concerned about the stability of the rear portion of the deck.
It doesn’t really move upwards and downwards, but when you get a couple of people walking on it, it shakes quite a bit side-to-side. If some one is inside, they can also feel the house wobble a bit.
One thing that we have noticed is that there isn’t any diagonal struts supporting the poles, which most of our neighbours seem to have. Apart from that, the deck seems quite solidly built. Our reckoning is that whoever owns the house hasn’t completed the renovations, as there is quite a bit of timber left under the deck.
So I have a couple of questions that I’d appreciate some advice on -
Would the lack of the cross-struts be the reason for the instability? (Bear in mind that the people living in this place are a doctor, tax lawyer and video-split assistant, and don’t really have any structural engineering background - we are just guessing)
I have called the agent about the problem - they haven’t done anything yet - would it be advisable to withold our rent until they sort the problem, or alternatively obtain a building inspection to see if there actually any potential for a collapse?
We really want to have a decent house-warming, but are obviously concerned about 25 pissed friends causing the deck to collapse.
Sorry about the length, and thanks in advance for any advice.
The majority of people on this board aren’t Australians, so you might have to explain to them what a Queenslander is.
In case Bubba doesn’t come back soon, a Queenslander is a characteristic housing style from Australia’s hotter northern regions. It’s usually a weatherboard (timber) house raised on stilts with a covered verandah all or most of the way around. The stilits are roughly about 10 or twelve feet high.
Sorry about that. The second last from the bottom at this site is probably the closest, with an L shaped deck that has been added to the side and rear.
If you have an elevated deck 10-12’ high which wiggles:
Block access to it - NOBODY sets foot on it - you’re looking at several hundred pounds of timber coming down - you don’t want to be in the middle of it!
Locally, a landlord was convicted of criminal negligence when a deck collapsed (one dead) - don’t know about AU law, but I’d certainly draw the landlord’s attention to the problem.
Yes, cross-bracing would help, but - without having a real engineer review the design, DON’T go nailing the left-over (more likely: never installed) boards - doing so might make YOU liable for any harm.
Go after the landlord, and keep people off the damned thing until it is safe!
If Queensland is like NSW, a check with the local council will tell you all you need to know.
Any home renovations of any size require council approval of the plans and a council building inspection upon completion to ensure that standards have been met.
Having said that, I wouldn’t be setting foot on a deck that I could feel moving.
Sorry, typo by me might be part of the reason for your concern happyheathen. My post should have said “the stilts are up to roughly about 10 or twelve feet high”. Bubba’s verandah may not be that high.
Many Queenslanders are nowhere near 10 feet off the ground, though construction on stilts is pretty well a defining characteristic of Queenslanders.
Thanks to all for the advice. We’ve pretty much been staying off the area since we realised it was unstable, and don’t worry - we haven’t even considered bracing the thing ourselves.
The deck is above 2m above the ground at its highest point - the house is set on a hill (it is in the suburb of Red Hill, for anyone who knows Brisbane).
I think I’ll give the agent another call right now. I think that Red Hill has some strict city council guidelines on alterations, so it would be interesting to see if these have been approved by the BCC.