Not so common wood failures

[jerseyshore]

Went to a mess of a deck earlier that has the front half separating from the back half (bad piles & foundations). This little block of wood was added at some point to try to tie the two parts together. Clearly that didn't work and I got this great shot of cross-grain tension failure.

So I'm interested to see what other not so common wood failures you have seen (photos encouraged).

I ask because I had a builder last week try to tell me that they can lap plywood halfway on a 2nd floor rim joist and omit the strapping (all the houses around here have to have straps from floor to floor or an actual full plywood lap). I said of course not, but they didn't believe me that cross-grain tension is a thing, even though I even sent them the image from the Simpson high wind catalog explicitly denouncing it. Feel like sending them this photo as a nice told ya so.

 

[port125]

Wow that deck is cringe.
I suppose the load path is the rim joist cantilevered from maybe 6 nails.

From the Original post did anyone else notice the angle is attached with drywall screws?

Here is One more for the party - Some 'repairs' at an apartment
These boards are doubled so not as bad as yours? But both plys are spliced like this, so even worse somehow? Anyhow, All of these decks were fully replaced.

 

[RontheRedneck]

port125 said: "From the Original post did anyone else notice the angle is attached with drywall screws?"

I've had contractors tell me that drywall screws are better because they pull the hangers in tight. And once they have that mindset it's damned near impossible to convince them otherwise.

 

[jerseyshore]

The drywall screws are the least of this deck's problems. Easily the worst constructed deck I've ever seen.

Check out these "foundations". Yes that is a chunk of timber pile on top of another pile. Yes that post is hanging from the beam, along with the sonotube below; it's literally floating above grade, you can swing it back and forth. And the #1 botch job, the main row of piles we suspect are only in the sand a couple of feet because they are leaning close to 30 degrees off vertical, pulling the entire deck away from house with it which my little block of wood from the OP was trying to hold back .