Outdoor decks are a common amenity for outdoor living at homes, apartments, condominiums, restaurants and commercial properties throughout Atlanta and Georgia. It seldom occurs to most people that these pleasant decks may hold hidden dangers that suddenly lead to serious injury or even death.

Every year there are many incidents of deck collapses in which people are seriously injured or killed. Some of the common preventable causes of deck collapses, based on building code violations that could be detected with inspection, include:

–        Failure to protect against decay. Building codes require that all structural elements exposed to weathering…