A PBRS Deck and Balcony Safety Report is provided to assist the client to identify defects in decks or balconies. PBRS provide a full Deck and Balcony Safety Inspection within their normal Building Inspection or Building and Pest Inspection Services as well.
New balconies, decks, balustrades and railings must be built to meet the requirements of the National Construction Codes (NCC) and relevant Australian Standards. The NCC requires the structure and materials used to build a balcony or deck withstand the loads and stresses that would be reasonably expected to be placed on it. Older buildings should have been built to the relevant codes and standards in force at the time they were built.
PBRS will report on any part of a Deck or Balcony that is non-compliant with up-to-date NCC or Australian Standard requirements and anything that may be considered as unsafe for continuing use of these areas.
The following link could be of interest if you do have a property with a deck or balcony:
http://www.hpw.qld.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/DeckBalconyAndWindowSafetyGuideline.pdf
‘In recent years a number of deaths and serious injuries have occurred as a result of falls from decks, balconies and windows, or from the collapse of decks and balconies’.
‘If you own a building with a balcony, veranda or deck—whether it is made from timber, metal, concrete or another material—you should ensure it is inspected carefully for decaying timbers, unstable balustrades, corrosion and cracking of concrete’.
Timber decks exposed to weather should be Inspected regularly. Particularly our Queenslander style of homes here in Brisbane with large decks and verandas, the older decks should be Inspected at least once every two years or as recommended by your licensed Building Inspector.
The older inner suburbs of Brisbane such as Ashgrove, Bardon, Paddington, Red Hill, Auchenflower, Newmarket, Milton, Wilston, Grange, Toowong, Alderley, Ascot, Enoggera, Kelvin Grove, Herston, Windsor, Clayfield, Bulimba, Hamilton, Morningside, Camp Hill, West End, Bowen Hills, Chelmer, Yeronga, Albion, Nundah, Wavell Heights, Dutton Park, Highgate Hills and Northgate all have those older Queenslander or Ashgrovian builds with large veranda and deck entertainment areas.