A residential wood deck inspection checklist: ledger attachment and flashing, footings and posts, beams and joists, hangers and fasteners and their corrosion, lateral load connectors, decay probing spot by spot, decking boards, stairs, guards and baluster spacing, what could not be inspected, and recommendations. Collapse and fall hazards are flagged as safety findings.
Inspection Details
Which deck, how it is built, and why it is being looked at.
Report title
Client
Property address
Date of inspection
Time
Inspector
Company
License or certification number
Who else was there
Why was the inspection ordered? — Home purchase, Annual safety check, Before adding a hot tub or heavy load, After a storm or impact, After repairs, Other
How the deck is supported — Attached to the house with a ledger, Freestanding — its own posts on every side, Cantilevered off the house floor joists, Balcony over living space
Framing material — Pressure-treated lumber, Cedar or redwood, Steel, Mixed, Could not tell
Decking material — Wood boards, Composite or PVC boards, Other
Height of the walking surface above the ground, at its highest
Approximate size
Approximate age, if known
Is there a hot tub, large planter or other heavy load on the deck?
Weather — Dry, Wet, Snow or ice, Hot
Ledger Attachment and Flashing
How the deck hangs on the house — the joint that decides whether it stays up.
Most deck collapses start here. Look at the ledger from below, and at the house rim from the basement or crawlspace if you can.
How much of the ledger could you see? — All of it, Part of it, None — enclosed or too low
How is the ledger fastened to the house? — Through-bolts or structural screws, Lag screws, Nails only, Could not see
Are the bolts or screws close enough together and staggered top and bottom? — Yes, No — too few or in a single line, Could not judge
What is the ledger fastened into? — The house rim joist or solid structure, Brick or stone veneer, Siding or sheathing only, A cantilevered floor overhang, Could not determine
Flashing over the ledger — Present and lapped behind the siding, Present but damaged or lapped the wrong way, Missing, Could not see
Ledger board and the house rim behind it
Any sign the deck is pulling away — a gap at the house, bent fasteners, a slope away from the wall? — None seen, Yes
From inside the house, any water staining or rot at the rim behind the ledger? — None seen, Yes, Could not see
Do the house joists that carry the deck show sagging, decay or water staining where they pass through the wall? — None seen, Yes, Could not see
Notes on the ledger
Photographs — ledger, fasteners and flashing
Footings and Posts
What the deck stands on, and the posts that carry it down.
Footings — Concrete piers or footings, Precast blocks sitting on the surface, Posts set straight into soil, Helical piles, Could not see
Condition of the footings
Post size — 4x4, 6x6, Larger or built-up, Steel, Mixed
Condition of the posts
How are posts held at the bottom? — Metal post base on concrete, Cast into concrete, Sitting on a pier with no connector, Set in soil, Could not see
Any post leaning, twisted, split or settled? — None seen, Yes
Wood touching soil, other than posts rated for ground contact? — None seen, Yes
Notes on footings and posts
Photographs — footings and posts
Beams and Joists
The frame between the posts and the boards.
Beams (girders)
How do the beams sit on the posts? — Notched into the post and bolted, Bearing on top with a post cap, Bolted to the side of the post only, Could not see
Do beam splices fall over a post? — Yes, No, No splices, Could not see
Joists and rim joists
Joist size and spacing
Any sagging, or bounce underfoot that suggests the joists or beams span too far? — None noticed, Yes
Do joists or beams overhang their support by more than about a quarter of their span? — No, Yes, Could not judge
Any joist or beam notched, cut or drilled enough to weaken it? — None seen, Yes
Notes on the framing
Photographs — beams and joists
Hangers, Fasteners and Corrosion
The metal that holds the frame together, and whether it is rusting away.
Joist hangers at the ledger and beams — On every joist, every hole nailed, Some missing or partly nailed, Joists toe-nailed with no hangers, Could not see
Are hangers fixed with the proper short structural nails or screws? — Yes, No — drywall screws, deck screws or roofing nails, Could not tell
Are connectors and fasteners galvanized or stainless, suited to treated lumber? — Yes, No — plain or electroplated steel, Could not tell
Corrosion of hangers, bolts, screws and nails
Notes on hangers and fasteners
Photographs — hangers and fasteners
Lateral Load Connectors and Bracing
What stops the deck swaying or pulling sideways off the house.
Lateral load connectors (tension ties from the deck joists into the house framing) — Present, None seen, Could not see
Diagonal bracing between posts and beams — Present, Missing — deck is tall or freestanding, Not needed — low deck tight to the house
Does the deck sway or rack when you push a guard post hard or walk briskly? — No, Yes
Notes on lateral support
Photographs — connectors and bracing
Decay Probing
Where you pushed an awl into the wood, and what it found.
Probe end grain, around fasteners, post bases, the ledger and stair stringers. Sound wood resists; decay lets the point sink and lifts out in short fibers.
Did you probe the wood? — Yes — at representative spots, Only a few spots, No
Probe spots
Where
Member — Ledger, House rim, Joist end, Rim joist, Beam, Post base, Stair stringer, Decking board, Guard post
Result — Sound, Soft on the surface only, Soft — decay likely, Point sinks in, wood crumbles
Photo
Notes on decay
Decking Boards
The surface people walk on, and anything plugged in on it.
Decking boards overall
What you saw on the boards — Soft or rotted boards, Split or broken boards, Raised nails or screws, Cupped or warped boards, Loose boards, Composite boards sagging between joists, Slippery from algae or moss, None seen
Any board soft, broken or springy enough to give way underfoot? — None found, Yes
Outdoor receptacle on or beside the deck — GFCI-protected with a weatherproof in-use cover, Not GFCI-protected, Cover missing or damaged, No receptacle
Notes on the decking
Photographs — decking
Stairs and Handrails
Stringers, treads, risers, the handrail and the light to see them by.
Does the deck have stairs?
Stringers
How are the stringers attached at the top? — Hangers or a bolted ledger, Nailed or screwed only, Not attached, Could not see
What do the stairs land on? — Concrete pad or solid landing, Soil or loose gravel, Could not see
Treads
Are all the steps the same height and depth? — Yes, No
Open risers with a gap a 4 in ball could pass through? — No, Yes
Handrail — Present, continuous and graspable, Present but not graspable — a flat board, Missing, Not needed — fewer than four risers
Is there a light that shows the stairs at night? — Yes, No, Not checked
Notes on the stairs
Photographs — stairs
Guards, Rails and Balusters
What keeps people — especially children — from falling off.
Common guides: guards wherever the surface is more than about 30 in above the ground below, at least 36 in high (42 in in some places), and no opening a 4 in ball can pass through. Local rules govern.
Guards along the open sides — Present on every side that needs one, Missing on one or more sides, Not needed — deck is low
Guard height, measured
Is the guard high enough? — Yes, Too low, Not measured
Would a 4 in ball pass between balusters, or under the bottom rail? — No — every gap is under 4 in, Yes — gaps too wide, Not checked
Widest gap measured
Do the guard posts stay firm when pushed hard outward? — Firm, Loose or flexing
How are the guard posts fixed to the frame? — Bolted through the rim with blocking or hardware, Bolted through the rim only, Notched posts bolted on, Nailed or screwed only, Could not see
Rails and balusters — decay, splits, loose pieces
Horizontal rails, built-in benches or planters a child could climb to get over the guard? — No, Yes
Notes on the guards
Photographs — guards and balusters
Limitations — Not Inspected
What could not be seen or judged, and why.
Not inspected, or only in part — Underside enclosed — skirting, lattice or a finished ceiling, Too low to get under, Ledger hidden behind trim or finishes, House rim not visible from inside, Footing depth not determined, Snow, ice or debris on the deck, Furniture, rugs or planters covering boards, Load capacity not calculated, Not a code or permit inspection, Nothing else limited this inspection
Anything else not inspected, and why
Summary and Recommendations
Can people use it today, and what should be fixed first.
Overall, on the day — Sound for normal use, Usable — repairs needed soon, Limit use until repaired, Keep people off until repaired
Recommend evaluation by a deck contractor or structural engineer? — Yes, No
Recommendations
What should be done
Where
Who should do it — Deck contractor, Structural engineer, Carpenter, Electrician, General contractor, Owner
How soon — Before the next use, Before closing or within weeks, Within the year, Routine maintenance
Photo
Summary for the client
Inspector — signature
Any other photographs
Home Inspection
Deck Inspection Checklist
A residential wood deck inspection checklist: ledger attachment and flashing, footings and posts, beams and joists, hangers and fasteners and their corrosion, lateral load connectors, decay probing spot by spot, decking boards, stairs, guards and baluster spacing, what could not be inspected, and recommendations. Collapse and fall hazards are flagged as safety findings.
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A deck inspection checklist walks a residential wood deck the way it fails: first where it hangs on the house, then the footings, posts and framing underneath, the metal that ties it together, the boards on top, the stairs and the guards that keep people from falling. This one flags every collapse and fall hazard as a safety finding, records decay probing spot by spot, and you can fill it in here and download a finished PDF without creating an account.
Start at the ledger
When an attached deck comes down, it usually tears away from the house. The ledger — the board bolted to the house rim — carries half the load, and it fails when it was only nailed, when it was fastened to brick veneer or siding instead of structure, or when water got behind it and rotted the rim. So the form starts there: how it is fastened, whether flashing sheds water over it, and whether there is any sign of it pulling away. If you can see the rim from the basement or crawlspace, look at it from inside too.
Underneath, from the ground up
Then the footings and posts, the beams and how they sit on the posts, the joists, the hangers and nails, and the lateral ties that stop the deck racking away from the house. Corrosion gets its own question: modern treated lumber eats plain steel, and a hanger rusted through looks fine from above.
Decay is recorded spot by spot. Push an awl into end grain, around fasteners, at post bases and along the ledger. Sound wood resists; decayed wood lets the point sink in and comes out in short fibers. Each spot gets a line in the list with what you found and a photo, which is far more useful to the next person than a single "decay: yes".
On top: boards, stairs and guards
Soft or broken boards, raised fasteners and trip edges are what people notice. The bigger risks are stairs with uneven steps or no graspable handrail, and guards that are too low, too wobbly or too open. A child-sized gap between balusters is a classic finding, and the form has its own question for it.
Rules of thumb, not a code inspection
The hints quote common guides — guards where the surface is more than about 30 in above grade, 36 in high, no gap a 4 in ball can pass through. They help you judge what you see. Local code and the permit drawings govern, and a home inspector reports conditions rather than certifying compliance or load capacity. When something looks structurally doubtful, recommend a deck contractor or structural engineer.
Common questions
What should a deck inspection checklist include?
Ledger attachment and flashing, footings and posts, beams and joists, hangers, fasteners and corrosion, lateral load connections, decay, the decking boards, stairs and handrails, guards and baluster spacing, any outdoor outlet on the deck, what could not be inspected, and recommendations with who should do the work.
How often should a deck be inspected?
Once a year is a sensible routine for an owner, ideally before the summer season, and always when a house is sold, after a storm, or before putting a hot tub or a crowd on it. Older decks and ones built without a permit deserve a closer look.
Is this a code inspection?
No. It records the condition of the deck on the day and calls out what looks unsafe or in need of repair. The guides in the hints are common rules of thumb; local code and the building department have the final say.
What if I cannot get under the deck?
Say so. Skirting, lattice, a finished ceiling below or a deck too low to crawl under all hide the ledger, framing and footings. Record it under limitations and recommend access be provided, because most structural defects are underneath.
Does it work for composite decks?
Yes. Composite and PVC boards still sit on wood framing in most homes, and the framing, ledger, hangers and guards are what fail. The decking questions include composite-specific defects such as boards sagging between joists.