Deck Guidelines Feedback

I received the new deck guidelines and feel we are getting very rigid. I don’t speak out that often, but this one has hit a nerve. It’s sad that some things need to be put into “rules” that just seem like common sense for a responsible person.

#3 is extremely explicit and I expect it’s due to a handful of homeowners that may be overly abusive to their decks. I’ve lived here for 14 years and have had plants on my deck off and on throughout the years and never caused any damage. I think there should be a clarification to the “elevation” comment. Do plants in containers with drainage pans count as being elevated? Putting plants directly on the deck without the drainage pans seems to be most at risk for causing damage.

The decision of 20% deck area as the restriction on the number of potted plants seems ridiculous. I disagree with this regulation and think it should be removed. As long as the plants are living and in proper pots, who’s to tell me how many I can have? Soon we’ll be told we can have only 2 patio chairs or be limited to a certain table size.

Many homeowners have gas grills that have bigger than 1 pound tanks. I understand this is a county fire code, but homeowners may choose to take the risk of being sited by the fire dept. If neighbors and the HOA are going to start enforcing in addition to the county, the HOA needs to look at an alternative location for grills. Do homeowners store in the garage and roll them out into the courtyard to grill? Did you know you are never supposed to store your grill indoors with the tanks connected? Gas tanks should always remain outside. As a responsible homeowner, I take great care in how I use my grill and always have a fire extinguisher nearby.

As a side note, my deck already looks a little messy and discolored in spots from the tree leaves and other tree droppings. It’s not damaged, I just want to point out that without much on the patio for the last couple of months it has already started to become weathered. It’s exposed to the outside elements, that is to be expected.

What are the next steps to these guidelines? Is any input being considered or are these going to be adopted "as is" at the next board meeting?

Hi,

Sandra right?

I personally don't like getting into people's business and I hate when the government gets in mine. When it comes to the grill issue, you're preaching to the choir and we're just the messenger there. I can see an issue with charcoal grills, especially since we've seen first hand how some people have burning holes through their decks but I don't agree with this gas grill ban.

As you mentioned, some of it is common sense. Unfortunately, every so often we run across a lack of it from some people. It's a big complex and there's always some resident or homeowner who doesn't think things through and throws caution in the wind.

As far as the 20% of square footage...blah, blah...I can't really speak to it. My suggestion is that anyone who has an issue with it, come to the HOA meeting this Tuesday (30th) at 6pm.

Take care,
Tom

Thanks Tom, will do!
Sandra

The new guidelines are they mailed to each home owner? I heard about it yesterday in the pool and I can't recall I've seen it. I checked the Peach Tree website and I see the news flyer that the mentions it but it refers to an attachment that I couldn't find.

Thanks,
Lolke

lolke wrote:The new guidelines are they mailed to each home owner? I heard about it yesterday in the pool and I can't recall I've seen it. I checked the Peach Tree website and I see the news flyer that the mentions it but it refers to an attachment that I couldn't find.

Thanks,
Lolke

Yes they were mailed to each of the home owners. I think I received mine in the Saturday mail.

I received an email from Peachtree today and apparently the plan is to vote and adopt the rules in the August meeting. So please come to tomorrow's or July's meeting to give your feedback.

Per the code which I just read......it states that grills are prohibited from wooden decks not stucco, cement, etc.
Unless I am confused both our buildings and are decks are stucco so we would be exempt from this code. Which by the way was largely meant for multi-story apartment complexes/wooden structures.

There is information all over the web about this "rule".

I did a little research and came across this FAQ:
What types of materials are considered combustible construction and what types are
considered non-combustible construction?

Wood or vinyl siding, wood decking and fabric awnings are examples of combustible
construction. For the purposes of these regulations, stucco covered walls/ceilings, concrete or
tiled floors and wood railings facing the exterior (not between units) will be considered to be
non-combustible construction. Note that certain composite deck and railing materials may also
be considered non-combustible for the purposes of these regulations. Check with the Fire
Department for approval.

Interesting....can you give me the source where you found this?

It was a few months back but the guidelines that Peachtree brought to us a while back made it sound like stucco covered wooden construction was not exempt.

An update from today's meeting.

A couple of residents stopped by and provided us with some clarifying information. We have asked for confirmation from the fire department. Apparently there's a question over whether our stucco covered walls and flooring is considered type 2 or 3. If it's type 2 then we don't have to worry about having gas BBQ with the standard 20lb tanks. If it's type 3, then we're stuck with the new rules.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

how did Peachtree come out with 20% space usage ??
Any data to show how many weights can our deck handle? ( Peachtree should have this data since city need to approve when builder building those deck)
Any evidence to prove that over how many weights the deck will get damaged ???

thanks

mickyni wrote:how did Peachtree come out with 20% space usage ??
Any data to show how many weights can our deck handle? ( Peachtree should have this data since city need to approve when builder building those deck)
Any evidence to prove that over how many weights the deck will get damaged ???

thanks

Peachtree didn't come up with the number. Someone on the board figured a number was needed in order to give residents an idea of where the borderline is. Where did they get it? They pulled it out of you know where.

These rules have still not been adopted.

We don't have any data on what the decks can or cant handle but its not the amount of gross weight the deck can handle. It's about damaging the membrane that protects the deck from moisture that we are most worried about.

Admin wrote:As you mentioned, some of it is common sense. Unfortunately, every so often we run across a lack of it from some people.

That's because common sense is so uncommon. :-))

Admin wrote:

Peachtree didn't come up with the number. Someone on the board figured a number was needed in order to give residents an idea of where the borderline is. Where did they get it? They pulled it out of you know where.

Oh, too funny! I suspected as much.

Admin wrote:

These rules have still not been adopted.

We don't have any data on what the decks can or cant handle but its not the amount of gross weight the deck can handle. It's about damaging the membrane that protects the deck from moisture that we are most worried about.

I didn't realize there was a meeting on July 30. Careless of me. But I understand they're to be voted on in the August meeting - that's August 13, 6:00 p.m., Premier Pizza, right? I assume there'll be some discussion and that homeowners can put in their two cents?

Perhaps we could get some data from Shea or from the people who resurfaced the decks as to how exactly we need to care for them, instead of pulling numbers out of the collective orifices of the Board of Directors. ) Then the data could be published to the homeowners - who, after all, don't want their property damaged.

It could be the decks can support so many pounds of gross weight, or it could be it's a matter of pounds per square inch (in which case we'd need to avoid allowing fat ladies in high heels on the decks). Or it could be we just need to avoid anything that's going to punch a hole in the surface.

If we can find out what it is we need to be careful of, we can have rules that make sense - and which are less likely to be ignored.

I'm not too worried about the grill rules. I don't have room for a grill. I have plants. Lots of plants.

Speaking of which, the painters told me that, if you have plants hung on the deck rails, you need to put something between the hanger and the rail to avoid damaging the paint and causing the rails to rust. So I went down to OSH and got a roll of rubbery shelf liner stuff. I couldn't find it in dark green, so I got it in black to match my pot hangers. I am pretty sure it is way more than I need, and I'll be glad to share it with anyone else who needs some.

Helen