Don’t put stuff under your deck unless you want it to be kindling.
Fire obviously loves wood, but do you know what it loves more? Things RIGHT underneath wood. This is one of the simplest (and potentially catastrophic) defensible space errors.
Wood is incredibly common in American homes, and there’s nothing like hanging out on your rustic deck with the people you love. But, decks aren’t always used, and the underneath where the posts meet the ground have so much storage space, right?
Well, sure. But, let’s think this all the way through. If you have firewood, leaves, or other dead vegetation under your deck, your home can be destroyed by wildfires sending embers into your little storage space, and then setting your entire deck on fire. And what does your deck surround? Your home.
Storing stuff underneath your deck seems easy, it seems like a safe bet, and you might even imagine that you’re keeping out animals from hanging out under there.
But, it’s not safe in high-risk wildfire areas, especially if you have grass or other flammable ground cover around your home. The leaves and anything else flammable stored underneath your deck will catch on fire. Even if your deck doesn’t ignite from an ember landing on it, it might ignite from the direct flames catching underneath it.
If you want a smart way to protect your deck without breaking your back having to rack out leaves and pine needles, get some mesh or non-ignitable fencing material (like chain-link), clear out the underneath of your deck, and then cover it with the materials. This is called deck skirting and is common, but try to use skirting material that isn’t flammable for safe measure.
Animals won’t get in, leaves won’t pile up, and most importantly: your home will be a little bit safer from wildfire.
If you have synthetic and ignition resistant decking material, you might have a little bit of wiggle room with this, but not much. The structure still holding up your deck (and the posts connecting it to the ground) might not have ignition resistance, and can still cause problems. Even if your deck structure is fully fire-proof, the flammable siding of your house can still ignite below the deck, and travel up.
Unless your home is fully ignition resistant, it’s a risk not worth taking.
From leaves under your deck to mesh around your roof vents, there’s so much to keep track of in terms of protecting your home from wildfire. Me and my friend made an easy tool that tells you how prepared you are for wildfire. It’s free, it’s easy, and it could save your home. Preparing your home for wildfire sucks, and is time consuming. But figuring out where to start doesn’t have to be hard. See how prepared your home is at assessment.faura.us.
