Deck Safety Tips for Homeowners

News Release

May is Deck Safety Month® – Deck Safety Tips for Homeowners

QUAKERTOWN, PA – The North American Deck and Railing Association declared May as Deck Safety Month®. NADRA’s Campaign for deck safety awareness is an effort to promote outdoor living in a beautiful and safe environment. During Deck Safety Month® the experts at NADRA are offering safety tips for homeowners and encouraging you to Check Your Deck®.

“It’s springtime and we all want to get out and enjoy our decks,” says Bob Lett, vice president of national sales for WOLF Home Products. “NADRA wants to help keep homeowners safe. Deck maintenance means so much more than just cleaning your deck. It means making sure your entire deck structure is in good, safe order. Just like your car, you need to evaluate, ‘tune up’ and keep your deck in safe operating condition on a regular basis. These checklists from NADRA can help you do just that.”

A key element to enjoying your deck for years to come is making sure it is safe. NADRA’s “10-Point Consumer Safety Checklist” is an efficient way to take a good look at the different parts of your deck, with an eye to what might need maintenance, repair or replacement. The checklist can be found at http://bit.ly/NADRA10PointConsumerChecklist.

Homeowners should consider a professional deck inspection. “A professional inspector will thoroughly examine your deck, provide information on your deck’s capacity limits, identify any dangerous problem areas and give you some insight of what to keep your eye on in the future,” says Beaudry. NADRA provides industry professionals with a Deck Evaluation Form that is available here: http://bit.ly/NADRADeckEvaluationForm, along with a new online Deck Evaluation Form (Beta Test). This is the latest iteration of NADRA’s Deck Evaluation Form. It’s easy to use and allows deck professionals the ability to save and print deck inspection results. The online form includes inspection items such as stairs, footings, beams/joists, ledger, boards/surface, rails/guards and more. Visit CheckYourDeck.org to test it out.

“We recommend ASHI-certified home inspectors or a knowledgeable deck builder for inspections of older decks,” says Beaudry. “Our NADRA member deck builders are required to adhere to a code of ethics and comply with state licensing and insurance requirements. This brings peace of mind to homeowners using our NADRA members.”

Deck inspection requires special knowledge, expertise and experience. To find a professional deck builder and inspector, please visit www.NADRA.org.

The North American Deck and Railing Association (NADRA) is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the necessity for regular inspection and maintenance of existing decks and proper installation of new decks. For more information visit www.NADRA.org