Hundreds of online users looked on in horror over a Delaware homeowner’s bracket job done by an alleged “carpenter.” Stillifewithcrickets, the Reddit user in question, shared his alarming-looking deck on r/HomeMaintenance, displaying a foundation that visually doesn’t look safe at all. “Carpenter who put the brackets in said it should hold,” the homeowner remarked, though plenty of people in the comments were certain that it wouldn’t.
While one commenter claimed that there was “Failure imminent” with how questionable the woodwork was holding up the deck, Stillifewithcrickets explained that he’s been living with these safety concerns for around five years. He replied to another response, offering suggestions for stability, saying that the opposite side of the deck is resting on the ground, which could be why the structure has yet to collapse.
Many Users Point Out the ‘Carpenter’s’ Incompetence, Calling It a Danger
Still, based on his post’s question of “How bad is this?”, almost everyone in the comments believes it’s pretty bad. “I feel like the word ‘carpenter’ is doing heavier lifting than the brackets he installed,” wrote a concerned user.
“That ‘load bearing’ 2×1 in the second picture should be called hopes and prayers,” joked a third, and Stillifewithcrickets responded, saying, “That was what the lattice was attached to before it ripped out.” “I wouldn’t set foot on that disaster,” warned a fourth.
Of course, several commenters made the “hot tub” joke, telling OP to test his desk’s integrity with a hot tub. That could be a bad idea, as one person believes a beer party with friends could lead to a disaster if too many people were on the opposite end of the one resting on the ground.
While a handful of people did their best to offer some advice on how the Delaware homeowner could fix his deck’s foundation, one commenter made quite a solid point about how important it is to improve the integrity of his home exterior.
Claiming to be a construction business owner and home inspector, the user wrote, “When a deck fails people don’t just get a bruise they get seriously injured. It’s really important to to do it right with nails and bolts and avoid screws.” In other words, Stillifewithcrickets will eventually need to take the repairs seriously before either he or someone in his family gets badly hurt.
