One of my favorite things to roast building codes about is the ridiculously high drop-offs allowed from decks and porches. No barriers are required on decks and porches until they get over 30 inches above finish grade.
I know that if I was a kid running around the house playing tag in the dark and suddenly stepped into a 30″ abyss it might just ruin my day.
Or how about if I host a rocking party and everyone is dancing their butts off, and someone goes spinning off a 30″ ledge into the roses?
I am not sure what the maximum height above the ground “should” be–but it would certainly be less than 30″ on my planet.
Most likely someone is not going to get killed falling off such a precipice–especially if they are drunk–but there is no question that one could be seriously injured.
I really expected this last code cycle would address this issue and in a sense it did–but barely. The only new requirement is the 30″ maximum is now to be measured 36″ away from the deck or porch–at least giving the person a flat place to head plant on instead of a sloped one.
This may make some decks safer in that it will give me more support for calling for barriers on more decks because so many of them have slopes around them that would not meet the 36″ rule. For example, with this new rule, deck surfaces that are only 18″ off the ground right at the deck, but more than 30 inches above the ground 36″ away, will need a barrier.
Personally I think any deck that has a drop off of more than a regular step-height, there should either be a step (or steps) or a barrier.
Regardless, I still call for barriers on these drop-offs–but when it is new construction–I now have a little more ammunition to support that it is “wrong” as well as “unsafe.”
By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
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Charles – great post.
Great picture of that deck, too.
I guess my question would be – if the code does not specify that railings and protective barriers do not need to be in place, that doesn’t give us as inspectors very much ammunition. I guess I would write a note in the report stating that although current codes do not mandate protective barriers to be put in place on this type of deck, please be aware that this could still pose a safety concern.
In my area the tie breaking opinion often comes when an insurance adjuster stops by for an audit on the new home owners policy and will require railings or guards on all decks and steps (regardless of height) as a provision for continuing coverage on a home owners policy.