You're spot-on about checking underneath. I learned that the hard way when I moved into my old place—beautiful historic home, but the deck was a sneaky disaster waiting to happen. Looked perfectly fine from above, but underneath was a termite buffet. Now I make it a point to crawl under there every spring...it's not exactly fun, but beats having your guests suddenly drop through the floor mid-burger flip.
Haha, crawling under every spring sounds dedicated—do you wear a hazmat suit or just brave it in jeans and hope for the best? I usually do a quick peek underneath once or twice a year, mostly because I'm paranoid about surprise expenses. Last time I skipped it, ended up with rotted support beams that cost way more than my budget allowed. Lesson learned...but seriously, does anyone actually enjoy deck inspections, or are we all just reluctantly adulting here?
I feel you on the surprise expenses... Last summer I skipped my usual spring check and ended up with carpenter ants nesting in the joists. Now I do a thorough inspection every April—jeans, flashlight, and a healthy dose of regret, haha.
Yeah, skipping inspections can really bite you later. I used to think annual checks were overkill until I found some rot under my deck stairs—luckily caught it early enough to avoid a full rebuild. Now I'm convinced it's worth the hassle every spring. Plus, regular checks help budget better since you catch issues before they spiral into wallet-draining nightmares... learned that one the hard way too, haha.
I hear you on that one—deck inspections are definitely one of those "better safe than sorry" things. I used to eyeball mine casually every couple years, thinking, "Eh, looks sturdy enough." Then one day, my foot went straight through a rotten plank during a BBQ... talk about embarrassing (and painful). Now I do a thorough check every spring—it's tedious, sure, but beats explaining to guests why they're suddenly ankle-deep in splinters.
