Deck Inspection & Safety Check
The 1989 deck on a house you just bought that the home inspector flagged with a single line — "deck shows signs of age, recommend further evaluation". The 2003 cedar deck on the house you are about to list whose pre-listing inspection has the agent worried. The deck after the windstorm in January where you can hear the rail wobble in a way you do not remember. The 1996 pressure-treated deck where you have suspected for two summers that the joist hangers might be failing but you cannot tell from above and you have not been brave enough to crawl underneath. Deck inspection and safety check is the diagnostic visit before any committed repair scope — full structural walk from above and below, awl and moisture meter on every accessible joist, ledger fastener and flashing inspection, joist-hanger check from below for rust-through, board and rail probe with end-grain rot check at every cut end, hand-shake test on every rail and post, code-compliance check against current residential deck code, and a written punch list with dated photos and recommended repair sequence. From $250 for a standard residential single-tier deck inspection up to $600 for a large multi-tier deck with full under-deck access and a complete code-compliance writeup. The inspection is the honest first step on every deck repair project — we tell you what stage your deck is actually in before any decision about scope, budget, or timeline.
Service
What Does Deck Inspection & Safety Check Include?
Deck inspection and safety check is a single diagnostic visit covering every layer of the deck — structural, safety, and surface. No repair work is performed on the visit (unless a small honest scope is logged and the homeowner approves it on the spot — say, a single popped fastener that takes a moment to drive back in). We arrive with a moisture meter, an awl, a headlamp, a clipboard, and a camera. We walk the deck from above, crawl underneath where access allows, inspect the ledger from above and below, probe every accessible joist, check every joist hanger, hand-shake every rail and post, check end-grain at every cut end, and deliver a written punch list with dated photos and a recommended repair sequence with rough labor budgets. The inspection is the honest first step on any deck repair project — most homeowners book the inspection visit, then schedule the actual repair work based on the punch list findings.
Ledger Fastener and Flashing Inspection
The ledger is the single most important board on the deck — the structural tieoff to the house. The single most cited cause of residential deck collapses for two decades is a failed nailed ledger. We inspect the ledger from above (pull back siding where access requires it), identify the fastener type (nails versus lag screws versus through-bolts), count the fasteners and measure the spacing, inspect the flashing condition (missing, reversed, properly installed), and take moisture meter readings on the rim joist behind the ledger through the lag holes where reachable.
Joist-by-Joist Awl Probe and Moisture Meter
Every accessible joist gets an awl probe along its full length and a moisture meter reading at the ledger end, mid-span, and rim end. From above (when boards allow access through the gaps) and from below (when the under-deck access is open enough to crawl). Healthy joists read 8 to 14 percent moisture and bounce the awl. Failing joists read above 20 percent at the rim, are soft to the awl, and dark at the failed end. We map the failures on the punch list — rim-end, hanger-zone, or mid-span over chronic-moisture spots.
Joist Hanger Check from Below
Every visible joist hanger gets a visual check from below for rust-through, back-out, and joist-to-hanger separation. The hangers in most pre-2010 Seattle decks are standard galvanized and rust through in 5 to 10 years on ACQ-treated pressure-treated lumber (the post-2004 standard, significantly more corrosive than the old chromated copper arsenate stuff). We document failed hangers with photos and recommend ZMAX or stainless replacement on the punch list. Hanger replacement itself is in the joist and substructure repair scope and gets quoted separately.
Board Awl Probe and End-Grain Rot Check
Every field bay on the deck gets an awl probe through the board gap on at least three boards per bay (concentrated on suspicious areas — soft underfoot, visible staining, near rail posts and stair stringers). Every cut end on the deck — board ends, stair tread ends, picture-frame mitres, post tops — gets a visual and awl check for end-grain rot. Soft ends and small rot areas are flagged for borate treatment or board replacement on the punch list.
Railing Hand-Shake and Code-Compliance Check
Every rail post and every rail section gets a hand-shake test. Loose connections logged. Baluster spacing checked against the current four-inch sphere code (where a four-inch sphere must not pass through any opening in a residential rail). Rail height measured against the current code (36 inches residential, 42 inches for raised decks above 30 inches off grade). Post bracing and rail-to-post fastener integrity checked. Documentation of what passes current code and what is grandfathered as-built.
Written Punch List with Dated Photos and Repair Sequence
The deliverable is a written punch list emailed within 24 to 48 hours of the inspection visit. Every finding documented with a dated photo, a severity rating (urgent / recommend / informational), a recommended scope (re-fasten, sister-up, hanger replacement, board replacement, ledger work, rail work, full inspection-permit-GC escalation), and a rough labor budget for the recommended scope. The homeowner can use the punch list to schedule the work with Handis, to shop competitive bids, to submit to an insurance carrier, or to attach to a real estate listing.
How Deck Inspection & Safety Check Works
Seven sequential steps from the on-arrival walk through the ledger inspection, joist probe, hanger check, board and rail check, and the written punch list delivery — the sequence we follow on every deck inspection visit.
On-Arrival Walk and Material Identification
Quick walk of the deck on arrival to identify the board material (cedar, pressure-treated, tropical hardwood, composite — brand if identifiable), the deck age (build year if known), the height off grade, the under-deck access quality, and the rail style. Sets the inspection plan.
Ledger Fastener and Flashing Inspection
Pull back siding where access requires. Identify fastener type (nails, lags, through-bolts), count and measure spacing, inspect flashing condition (missing, reversed, properly installed). Take rim-joist moisture readings through the lag holes where reachable. The ledger is the single most cited deck-collapse failure mode and gets the most attention.
Joist-by-Joist Awl Probe and Moisture Meter from Above and Below
Every accessible joist awl-probed along its full length and moisture-metered at the ledger end, mid-span, and rim end. From above through the board gaps and from below where under-deck access allows. Healthy joists bounce the awl and read 8-14 percent moisture; failing joists are soft and read above 20 percent.
Joist Hanger Visual Check from Below
Every visible joist hanger checked from below for rust-through, back-out, and joist-to-hanger separation. Most pre-2010 hangers in Seattle are standard galvanized and rust through in 5 to 10 years on ACQ-treated pressure-treated lumber. Failures documented with photos.
Board Awl Probe and End-Grain Rot Check
At least three boards per bay awl-probed through the gaps, concentrated on suspicious areas. Every cut end (board ends, stair tread ends, picture-frame mitres, post tops) visually and awl-checked for end-grain rot. Soft ends and small rot areas flagged for borate treatment or board replacement.
Railing Hand-Shake and Code-Compliance Check
Every rail post and rail section hand-shake-tested. Baluster spacing checked against the four-inch sphere code. Rail height measured against the current code (36 inches residential, 42 inches for raised decks above 30 inches off grade). What passes current code and what is grandfathered as-built documented.
Written Punch List with Dated Photos within 24-48 Hours
Every finding documented with a dated photo, a severity rating (urgent / recommend / informational), a recommended scope (re-fasten, sister-up, hanger replacement, board replacement, ledger work, rail work, full inspection-permit-GC escalation), and a rough labor budget. Emailed within 24 to 48 hours of the visit.
Deck Inspection & Safety Check Pricing
Final pricing depends on deck square footage, the number of tiers (single-tier, two-tier, multi-tier), the under-deck access (open and crawlable versus crawlspace-tight versus inaccessible), and whether a full code-compliance writeup is in scope. The inspection visit does not include any repair work; recommended repairs are quoted separately based on the punch list findings. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Tell us the deck age and the layout — we will quote the inspection and tell you when the punch list lands.
Why Handis for Deck Inspection & Safety Check
The honest first step on any deck repair project is the inspection. Most homeowners who call us with "we want to stain the deck" or "we want to replace some boards" or "we are thinking about a composite resurface" actually need the inspection first — because the staining will not solve the wobbly rail, the board replacement will not solve the failing joist underneath, and the composite resurface only makes sense over a sound frame. The inspection is $250 for a standard single-tier deck and produces a written punch list the homeowner can use to schedule the right scope at the right time. We do not push you into the inspection if you genuinely just need a stain coat on a known-sound deck — we will tell you on the phone whether the inspection is the right next step or not. But for any deck older than ten years, any deck whose ledger or framing has never been inspected, and any deck that has wobbled or flexed in ways the homeowner cannot explain, the inspection is the cheapest way to avoid an expensive surprise.
Full structural walk from above and below
The inspection is not a 10-minute walkaround — it is a 60-to-90-minute deep dive. We walk the deck from above with an awl and a moisture meter, crawl underneath with a headlamp where access allows, inspect the ledger from above and below, probe every accessible joist, check every visible joist hanger, hand-shake every rail and post, and check every cut end for rot. The full inspection takes time because the failures we care about — failed ledgers, rotting joists, rusted hangers, soft end-grain — are invisible from a casual walk and have to be found by deliberate probing.
Ledger and rim-joist get the most attention
The ledger is the single most cited cause of residential deck collapses for two decades. Every inspection visit prioritizes the ledger inspection — fastener type identification, flashing condition, rim-joist moisture reading. A nailed ledger or compromised flashing changes the priority of every other repair on the deck; there is no point fixing surface boards on a deck that is one storm away from pulling off the house. We document the ledger condition with photos and call out the urgency on the punch list.
Joist hanger check from below — the failure mode no one sees
Standard galvanized joist hangers on ACQ-treated pressure-treated lumber (the post-2004 standard, significantly more corrosive than the old chromated copper arsenate stuff) rust through in 5 to 10 years. Most pre-2010 Seattle decks have the wrong hardware grade and the hangers are failing quietly under the deck where the homeowner never looks. We crawl underneath with a headlamp where access allows and check every visible hanger. Failed hangers are documented with photos and recommended for ZMAX replacement on the punch list.
Code-compliance walkthrough on grandfathered rails
Decks built before the mid-1990s often have horizontal-grid rails or wide-baluster spacing that does not meet the current four-inch sphere code. These are usually grandfathered as-built but routinely come up at pre-listing inspections and become real safety concerns in households with small children. We document what passes current residential code (rail height, baluster spacing, post bracing) and what is grandfathered, with photos. The walkthrough is informational — useful when the home goes on the market or an insurance inspector flags the rail.
Written punch list with photos, severity, and budget within 48 hours
The deliverable is the punch list — every finding documented with a dated photo, a severity rating (urgent / recommend / informational), a recommended scope, and a rough labor budget. Emailed within 24 to 48 hours of the visit. The punch list is yours to use however you want — schedule the work with Handis, shop competitive bids based on the scope, submit to an insurance carrier, attach to a real estate listing. The inspection report is not gated behind a follow-up sales call.
Insured, background-checked, no repair upsell pressure
Handis carries general liability and workers' compensation; every technician has cleared a background screening before the first job. The inspection visit is a flat-fee diagnostic; we do not bill any small fix-it work done during the visit unless explicitly approved by the homeowner. We do not upsell repair scope during the visit — the punch list goes to you in writing and the decision about what to repair, when, and with whom is yours. We are happy to bid the repair work as a separate scope, but the inspection report stands on its own.
Estimate
Tell us the deck age (build year if known), the size in square feet, the number of tiers, the height off grade, the board material (cedar, pressure-treated, composite, hardwood), the under-deck access (open and crawlable, crawlspace-tight, fully enclosed), and what prompted the inspection (pre-purchase, pre-listing, insurance inspection, post-windstorm, suspected joist or ledger failure, general concern). We will quote the inspection and tell you when the punch list will land in your inbox.
Customer Reviews
Recent deck inspection and safety check reviews from verified Seattle-area customers.
Pre-purchase inspection on a 1989 deck attached to a house we were under contract for. The home inspector had flagged "deck shows signs of age" and we needed actual detail. Handis tech spent 90 minutes on the deck and under it with a headlamp, came back with a written punch list flagging a nailed ledger, four rotting joist hangers, two soft boards, and a rail that needed code-compliance updates. We used the report to negotiate a price reduction and then hired Handis back the next month to do the work.
Pre-listing inspection on our 1998 cedar deck. We knew it had issues but wanted to know exactly what the buyer-side inspection would flag. Handis tech walked the deck, documented the grandfathered rail status, the end-grain rot at three corners, and one wobbly post. We addressed the issues before listing — the buyer-side inspection came back clean and the home sold a week later at full ask. The pre-listing inspection paid for itself many times over.
Just wanted to know what was actually going on with our 2003 deck. Handis tech was honest from the start that he was there to inspect, not to upsell. Crawled under with a headlamp, awl-probed every joist, checked every visible hanger. The punch list came back two days later — three urgent items (ledger flashing reversed, two joists soft at the rim, four hangers rusting through) and several recommend items. Clear path forward. We scheduled the urgent items first.
Insurance inspection after a windstorm tore some shingles off our roof — the carrier wanted documentation that the deck was structurally sound before they would renew. Handis tech did the full walk, took dated photos of every joist hanger, every ledger fastener, every rail post, and delivered a written report formatted for the carrier with age estimate and remaining-life estimate. Carrier accepted the report and the renewal went through clean.
Large multi-tier deck off our Sammamish house, two levels, maybe 720 sq ft total. We had been suspecting joist issues for two seasons. Handis tech did the full inspection on both tiers, crawled under both levels with a headlamp, came back with a 14-item punch list — five urgent (failing hangers on the upper tier, ledger lag rust on the lower, two joists past sister-up), six recommend, three informational. The structural items routed to a permit-GC; the rest were Handis scope. Full project ran four months but the inspection was the first honest step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis deck inspection and safety check — pricing, scope, what is documented, and how the punch list is used.