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Building inspector didn't like it...

Ultradog MN

Ultradog MN

Well-known Member
Location
Twin Cities
But he did give me final approval.
It's been 5 years since I pulled the permits to build an addition on my house. Everything is supposed to be completed within 6 months but I was a little slow at getting it done.
I'd do a little every year and that was ok with him.
All I had left was to get the handrails on my deck so I knocked them out this week and he came to look today. He never did like my deck and he kind of grumbled about the handrails today because technically the cross section is larger than it is supposed to be. And he sure doesn't like the fact that it will never be painted. But he let it all go and gave me the final approval for the entire addition plus a complete gut on the old part of the house. Kind of a red letter day to get him off my back. He was a nice guy though. Helped me keep it all to code without being a tyrant.
The chain is some # 160 final drive chains off of an old dragline I used to have. I couldn't bear to scrap them and so after years of them laying around I finally put them to use.
Real PIA welding all those links together - about 22 feet in all.

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I like you set up . You don't have to worry about caring in mud and you don't have to sweep it off. You will never have to replace it. Nice Job !!!!
 
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Wonder if you neighbors wil be beholden much LOL.
 
Your insurance co may not like the skimpy railing.Ive seen outside steel stair ways rusted enough to be dangerous.A woman with spike heels would be in trouble on that deck.Welded projects look lousy without paint.Stair treads are too narrow.Building inspector 15 years.
 
hey! that aint bad, a coat of paint and I think it will look pretty sharp! I can appreciate the work that went into your deck! There isnt anything wrong with doing some things a little different! GOOD WORK :D
 
forgot to tell you, you will find that the dogs and cats wont like to walk on that grating. I got the same kind of deck at the shop!
 
The inspector will look at the gap between verticals on the railing, it must be 4" or less in most places. We do not require railings if 18" or less off the ground.

You can raise the ground.
 
Creative but would never fly around here. Top rail has to be no more than 38" tall and spindles no more than 4" apart. Your a little short on material to keep anyone from going to the ground. Codes are made for a reason. A little kid could be seriously hurt on that thing. Insurance company probably would never back you on it either. Good luck.
 
Some of that soft rubber mat like they use in shops would work nice there,and you could walk around on your bare feet.
 
I'm surprised he passed it.

I couldn't have, from an insurance standpoint. There are no upright spindles, nothing to keep someone from falling through under the railing.

I'd give you "A" for creativity and "D" for effectiveness of the end result.
 
A couple of replys here.
The pic below is of an upright I had to add on the long handrail. If you look close you might recognize it as half of a pto shaft - just to keep things somewhat tractor related...
Inspector himself told me I didn't need spindles as the deck is less than 30" off the ground.
I'm a carpenter and know about stairs. These are 7 1/2" rise and 12" run.
I've built a lot of decks and would never have a wooden one. Way too much maintenence!
If I ever painted this thing it would be a never ending chore to keep it painted. At 58 (almost 59) I'm thinking it'll last as is till they take me to the big scrap yard in the sky.
Lyle, you are right about the dog not liking it. My little dog hated the grating but is used to it now. The piece of cement board in front of the door is for her.
Thanks for the kind remarks. I didn't expect everyone to like it. Inspector didn't either but he passed it. I suspect the insurance man will defer to the local building code.
Oh, and I don't wear high heels but for those that do there's always the front door...

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I like it. It takes me back to some of my old ships. I like the deck plates. In order to make code you should have uprights, but overall, I like it it a lot. You didn"t take out a patent on a deck plate deck I hope, cause I got get me one of those. In Lake Charles, I rented a trailer that had a dock redecked for a front porch, and it was awesome.
 
Greaat looking deck, I love the whole deck grating and and chain look...but painted it will look ALOT better. That said, it might cost a little more than regular paint, but if you want to give it some color try painting it with POR. Not only do you not have to clean off the rust already there, it will seal everything and keep it from rusting anymore. I've got a buddy that painted the rusty spots on his trailer with it years ago and it looks as good today as it did when first painted.

As far as the comments about the pickets, or lack thereof, I know many codes only require the close pickets if over a certain height (48 inches around here if I remember right). My deck is about 36 inches off the ground and all I have is a handrail around the top, with no pickets, and it was and has been legal, to code, since being built in 1994. Looks like your way under the required height so what could he really say other than, ' you pass' ?
 
Hey, Jerry- for the girls we hang with, it should be fine! You"ve met my better half- ever seen her in heels? I don"t think so! Just keep trucking along....nice job, creative, enduring, etc. We can bring brats and beer!
 
Hey NCWayne, Jerry is a Navy Vet and Ford tractor guy. I"ll bet he"ll soon have it in battleship gray and Ford blue, maybe some red for emphasis. And yeah, always our flag!
 
There are likely different kinds but por-15 when exposed to sunlight just flakes off. Make sure you top coat it.
 
That is very original. I have never seen anybody do that before. I remember reading in my packet of rules and regulations from my township building dept. that a deck ONLY needed railings if it was more than 24" above the ground or something like that.
A building inspector is really not needed. Only the insurance company has to pass the job, to insure it or not.
 
Looks good. Hope you don"t drop your car keys or house keys. Better slide one or them peices of metal roofing under there you have laying in the back yard.
 
Yep, no paint is good - even on tractors.

New paint looks "purdy" for awhile, then it just deteriorates. Our Regular is 100% rusty and staying that way... wish our F20 and JD B were rusty too (but husband painted them when restoring).
 
It meets the letter of the code, but wait until one of the neighbors gets a bee in their bonnet and decides you need to be taken down a notch.
 
Thanks.
The metal roofing is for my next project - an awning over the front steps. Maybe I'll post some pics when I get it done. Rust is good.
 
I guess I've just spent too much time getting rid of rust, to want to look at it every time I'm out in the back yard. But to each his own.

I do like the roller chain railing- very original idea.
 
Hey, I don't care what others say I like it. My daughter is renting a place that has log chain for rail mounted to camshafts for posts. It isn't welded at all the chain is bolted in the hole where the cam bolt would go and it just swings in between.

Steven
 
I like it! Other than the manly man cool factor best think I like about it is that if I had that it'd have 3" of smelly dirt under it after a while but the wife wouldn't be fuss'n about me track'n in "mud" all the time. Plus the wife wouldn't have to be sweep'n it all the time!!

Dave
 
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