Recently moved into this rental and something about the balcony bothers me. I can't put my finger on it, but also I know nothing about code/construction. I have kids, so maybe I'm just being paranoid, but —
This is how the railings are attached to the apartment, the brackets are screwed directly into the siding. I asked ChatGPT to evaluate it and it said there were safety concerns. Are there? Is it concerning enough that I send a note to maintenance?
More info: The side with the visible screw extending underneath the rail wiggles back and forth a bit, but it seems to come from the railing side of the bracket. Idk. When I press on the siding adjacent to the screw, it feels pretty solid. The other side of the rail also wiggles back and forth. I can also make an indent without much pressure from my finger on the siding.
That alone, it's fine. I guess the bigger question is why. Is there something wrong with the structure of the deck? I'd say there was probably just a litte wobble there that was annoying to someone so they installed the bracket to stiffen it up.
Railings should not wobble, this tells me it's weak. A railing on a deck or anywhere else for that matter should be able to hold the weight of a person falling against it. I would not stake my life on that bracket.
It may be screwed into the siding but the screws may also extend into the wall 2x4's themselves. Probably okay unless you want to body slam your drunken friend into it when you're in a stupor one night.
Pro tip - NONE of those are safe. Every single 'affordable rental' I've had , those railings wouldn't hold a man falling down
If the railing moves more than an 1/8 of an inch, that shit isn't safe.
We really need pics of the whole deck, particularly the underside and the railing.