‘To fall 10, 11 feet’: Family worries how deck is secured

A family in west Charlotte is upset about their home’s deck.

The Friends live in The Vineyards on Lake Wylie. The house is 10 years old and the family is the third owner, having lived there since 2021.

They say neighbors were complaining about how their decks were secured, so they decided to take a closer look at their own. When they did, they worried about how it was secured to the second floor of the house and the posts were on the ground.

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Stefan Friend says he felt the posts were too narrow. He also expected them to be set in concrete in the ground but says they were just resting on the surface.

“Two little kids, if something happens, they fall through the deck, it’s going to be devastating for them. But also us, or guests coming over. Something happens, that would be really bad for you to fall 10, 11 feet,” he said.

So Friend decided to redo the deck, but says it ended up being more cost-effective to just replace it, which he’s doing.

“I’d rather be proactive than wait for something to happen,” he said.

Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke contacted the homebuilder D.R. Horton. The company’s Charlotte South City Manager Jim McKinney emailed Stoogenke:

“D.R. Horton is committed to providing quality customer service in the greater Charlotte area and across the country. Our homes are built to meet or exceed local building codes and undergo multiple independent inspections throughout construction. Mr. Friend does not appear to be the original owner of the home, nor has he submitted a warranty request regarding this to our local division. We always encourage any homeowner with a concern to contact us directly at CorporateCustomerCare@drhorton.com .

“Every D.R. Horton homeowner is provided with a robust home warranty, including a minimum one-year general builder warranty, a two-year warranty on mechanical components of the home such as heating, cooling and plumbing and a ten-year limited warranty covering major structural components.”

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If you’re buying new construction with any builder, Action 9 suggests:

- Stay on top of the project and ask questions.

- You may want to bring in an expert or a home inspector. It may be worth the expense.

If you’re not the original owner (like in this case):

- Check with your county permit department.

- It may reinspect the property.

- If all else fails, you may want to talk to a lawyer.

But know this:

- In North Carolina: you generally can’t sue once the home is six years old.

- In South Carolina, it’s eight years old.

- In both Carolinas: you generally can’t sue if you’ve known (or should have known) about the problem for more than three years.

Click here for the North Carolina code requirements for decks.

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