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Building and Neighborhood Services urges porch partiers to be careful
Before the nation was shocked Sunday by 13 deaths and 57 injuries caused by a wood porch collapse in the Chicago area, Carbondale experienced a similar but much smaller scare two months ago.
A wood deck at a second floor apartment owned by Bonnie Owen Property Management at 2237 Country Club Road collapsed May 3 and dropped 20 people 10 feet to the ground. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department reported several injuries, but no one was killed.
However, Carbondale Building and Neighborhood Services inspector Tom Grant said both porch collapses could have been prevented.
Grant said although a variety of factors including proper maintenance and construction are crucial to a wood deck's safety, both collapses were chiefly caused by a disregard for the most basic of factors - common sense.
"Both cases were an overloading problem," Grant said. "A deck's a great place to party, but not when you've got a small deck and 50 people."
Witnesses reportedly said the three-story deck in the Chicago suburb of Lincoln Park was supporting 25 to 40 people on the third floor when it collapsed. The weight of that collapse crashed through a second-story level directly underneath it before the pile of people and debris fell to the basement level. All 13 people killed in the collapse had been on the second floor level.
Grant said his department follows a strict occupancy limit when inspecting porches in Carbondale. For a normal balcony on a commercial structure, Grant said the structure must hold 100 pounds per square foot. A porch designed for private use must be able to support 50 pounds per square foot.
The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that a source close to the investigation said the weight from the overcrowded porch was the cause of the collapse. Inspectors said at least one wood joist, or support beam, snapped under the weight of the people enjoying a welcoming party on the third floor of the apartment building.
Philip J. Pappas, the owner of the Lincoln Park apartment, could face a complaint in Cook County Housing Court for adding the three-story deck and staircase without permits.
The department does mandatory inspections as well as those that are requested. Grant said he was not aware of very many requested inspections made in Carbondale after the collapse of the Country Club Road deck, which was past city limits and out of the department's jurisdiction.
Besides using common sense, Grant said there are several other factors to consider in determining whether a deck is safe for use. One common mistake is failure to check the entire deck, including the bottom.
"A lot of people don't look at the bottom of a wood deck," Grant said. "They look at the top. It's just as important to occasionally have a look at the bottom to see if there's been damage."
Grant said he advises people who own a deck that is connected to a building to be especially careful. For decks attached to a building, Grant said the first sign of collapse is separation from the building.
A deck collapse can also be caused by faulty construction. Lawyers and building officials investigating the Lincoln Park deck collapse are trying to determine whether charges of faulty construction can be given to Pappas. Inspectors have found no evidence of faulty construction at this time.
Grant said a deck's uprights must have lateral bracing, otherwise a twist occurrence can wreak havoc on a deck. A twist occurrence allows the bracing to let the deck sway back and forth, which Grant said can loosen screws and bolts that hold the deck together.
Grant said the deck that collapsed at Country Club Road had a fundamental construction problem - it was 10 feet high, but supported by 4-by-4 posts.
"Even though a 4-by-4 will carry quite a bit, that's a long span," Grant said. "You're talking like having a toothpick between your two fingers and putting pressure on it. It has a tendency to bend and warp."
A poorly constructed deck can also lead to the problem of insect infestation. Grant said if a deck is not properly built, it will hold moisture. Termites go back into the ground every 24 hours for water, but if a deck holds water, then they don't have to.
"If a deck holds moisture, then termites don't have to leave," Grant said. "They can just stay in there and breed and eat and terrorize the thing."
In addition to termites, Grant said wood-boring bees can also eat through a wood deck that has not been treated properly.
Above all, Grant said porch partiers need to exercise common sense.
"If you're on a deck with 50 people and two kegs of beer and it doesn't look big enough to hold but maybe eight people," Grant said, "you should probably get off."
