Enjoy a Safe Deck. May is Deck Safety Month

May 7, 2007

By Communications staff, Washington State University

As summer weather gets underway, more people are spending time enjoying their decks, and May is National Deck Safety Month, according to the North American Deck and Railing Association. The deck is the most dangerous part of a house, with more injuries and loss of life than any other part of the home structure, said Don Bender, structural engineer and director of the WSU’s Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory. “Many decks collapse before they reach their design load,’’ he said. According to Bender, decks should be designed, constructed and inspected by competent professionals but often this is not the case. With the rapid turnover of houses today, the homeowner may not know who built their deck. A prudent course is to have your deck inspected by a professional. Potential problem areas are the deck attachment to the house, railings, wood decay and fastener corrosion.

Working with colleagues at Virginia Tech University and at the Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory, Bender helped to develop design guidelines for making residential decks safer. They recently published an article on their findings in International Code Council’s Building Safety Journal, read by approximately 40,000 building inspectors and officials throughout the United States, and the group’s recommendations are being balloted this month for inclusion in the International Residential Code. In addition, Bender is serving as a technical advisor to Simpson Strong-Tie in their national campaign for deck safety.

For more information, contact Don Bender, bender@wsu.edu, or 335-2829.

WSU hosts 50th Murrow Symposium on April 6, featuring industry leaders and livestream access

April 3, 2026

Over three days, the symposium will feature keynote speakers, nationally recognized journalists, industry panels, and interactive student experiences.

By Brett Atwood, WSU Murrow College of Communication