Prospect Park, NJ Inspection

The ledger board connecting the Stair to the home structure was fastened with nails only. Due to temperature and moisture cycles, nails will eventually loosen. While no failure was seen at the time of the inspection and this was standard practice for many years, the modern standard fastener schedule for attachment to the home structure is one half-inch lag screw installed every two feet, staggered up and down. The Inspector recommends having properly sized and spaced bolts installed by a qualified contractor.