On a home inspection in Callahan, I came across this wood deck at the back of the house.

The deck is attached directly to the house, which is ok for a permanent site built house. But not for a mobile home.

At this house there was no flashing between the house and the deck. This flashing is vital to prevent water from getting to the house framing. It is extra work, and is often skipped for this reason. But the results of not installing the correct deck flashing can be seen in the pictures below.

In the pictures you can see that the 2 main house framing beams that support all the rest of the house have almost completely rotten out. One of the beams is completely rotted through and started sagging. The second beam is starting to turn black and rot. If this problem is not correctly, this part of the house will start to sink. Not good.

That’s all for today. Just remember – if you’re installing a deck, make sure you do your research, and build the deck properly. Otherwise, you’ll be doing it again, and possibly repairing your house too!