Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/67690
SERVICE & SET-UP Don't Get Decked ByMoisture BYGEORGE PORTER The other day I was looking through Popular Mechanics Magazine and I came across some- thing that solves a big problem with our homes. If you have been a faithful reader you will re- member some time back I discussed the new cus- tom of building decks into the frame of the homes. If you have a recessed entry or an end porch then you probably have an open space there for the water to fall through the deck boards and get under the house. Some folks have unwittingly compounded the problem by skirting the home or even putting a solid wall up at the perimeter of the home and trapping the moisture under the home. The real problem is that the troubles will not start for about a year or so and then they will probably be expensive to fix. If mold is involved the troubles might go right off the chart. Somemanufacturers have been trying to solve the problem by putting solid top on the deck. I saw one the other day and it reminded me of homes I knew in the late 70's and early 80's. These homes had recessed entries but they were small and they were the original decking of the floor covered with a rubber membrane that went up the wall an inch or two. Just so we are clear on what it was it was particleboard covered with rubber sheeting and then had an indoor-outdoor carpet nailed to the top of it all,(did you notice the word "nailed") do you know what nailsmake in rubber sheeting? Right, great idea! You don't see many of these anymore, 'wonder why". There was another problem as well, it was called snow. It seemed whenever it snowed it stacked up against the walls and as itmelted it was some- times trapped by the solid deck and leaked into the walls. People were not pleased, at all! So the rubber deck thing faded pretty quickly. What prompted all this "innovation" was the de- sire of the consumer to make the home not look like a "trailer". The rest of the problem was the JUNE 2012 20 THE JOURNAL industry trying to be "affordable" and falling a lit- tle short of good design. So, now we have built in decks and while they do look nice and certainly can function when properly done, we are almost never doing the whole job. Most manufacturers' manuals want you to create a barrier between the deck space and the floor area under the home and provide drainage from under the deck area. What they mean is a wall or at least a vapor barrier so that the damp can't get to the floor of the home. Good luck with that! One fellow told me he duct taped up a piece of plastic to the bottom of the home so it hung down like a shower curtain. Well…. I guess that is more than most folks do! So what are we to do with this dilemma? I found the answer; in fact I found two of themand there may be more. All the products are similar in the approach to the problem. One is a product called "Dry Space." it installs under the floor joists and has a vinyl panel that clips between the joists. When you are done there is a little pan with a slope heading toward the outside wall. Then there is a gutter system almost like you put on the roof edges and it collects the water and pipes it to wherever you want to send it to, presumably outside the wall. The contact for them is DEK Drain: 866- 335-3724 There are probably several other types but this is the short list and these products will seal off the open deck fromthe underneath of the home. Now is the time to act, in a few years it is going to cost a bunch more than whatever this stuff costs to fix lots of homes. TJ It is a rubberized material with a lifetime war- ranty. It can be used in two ways, one is on top of the joists (good at the factory) and the other is under the joists when the home has already been built. It does the same as the other sys- tem, it collects the water that comes through the deck and sends it into a gutter and outside some- where. The contact for themis: 888-326-2638 or on the Web at: www.dryspace.cc/ The other product is one called DEK Drain. George Porter is a consultant to the manufactured housing industry. His Company is Manufactured Housing Resources, P.O. Box 9, Nassau, DE 19969, (302) 645 5552, Fax: (302) 645 1152, Web: www.george-porter.com. Some of his services are both in person and On-line training for certifica- tion in many states plus expert witness and investi- gation for the industry.