Last week we were called by Marietta homeowners because their front porch was sinking in the middle. While we were there, we also went around back to look at their sunroom which they were thinking about replacing in the near future. We were astonished to find it was nearly ready to fall off the house! It was built on jacks which were wobbly and near collapse.
What was worse is that several other contractors had come out to the property to bid on the new porch and sunroom and none of the other contractors realized that the sunroom was about to fall off the house.
We were not particularly surprised to find these issues because we find poorly built structures all the time in this area – especially in older homes.
One of the biggest reasons we find structures poorly built by other contractors is because most GA builders are not licensed. In addition, Georgia is one of two states that still require only a 40lbs PSF live load. At Archadeck of Greater Atlanta, we build everything to a 60 lb PSF live load. We wrote about this last week. Click here to read more about shoddy building requirements and unlicensed builders in Atlanta and throughout the state of GA.
What is live load and why is it important? Live load is any variable, movable load (weight) to which a structure may be subjected, including furniture, people, supplies, etc. Across the country, the standard live load is 60 lbs PSF. Because Georgia’s requirement is much lower, most Georgia contractors will only build to the minimum requirement.
Instead of just repairing the front porch, we decided we needed to repair the front porch and the sunroom at the same time. Fortunately this came in time to ensure their family and guests did not use the sunroom during the holidays.
We offer deck inspections to those considering projects for $99. Because of so many unlicensed builders and the low building requirements your deck sunroom or porch could be unstable or unsafe. Call us now – (770) 377 – 2900. Or visit our Atlanta deck builder website to learn more about Atlanta area deck inspections.


































