{"id":6859,"date":"2022-08-11T20:53:25","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T00:53:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pattiphillipsbooks.com\/kerriansnotebook\/?p=6859"},"modified":"2024-07-10T17:27:09","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T21:27:09","slug":"kn-p-294-death-by-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pattiphillipsbooks.com\/kerriansnotebook\/2022\/08\/kn-p-294-death-by-construction\/","title":{"rendered":"KN, p. 294 “Death by Construction”"},"content":{"rendered":"

If this article has no paragraph separations, please double-click on the title. That will create a more readable version.<\/em> <\/span>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s taken a full year to find a builder that specializes in decks, could fit us into his schedule, and then actually show up to give us an estimate.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nWe found this guy through an accidental meeting. Months of calling builders listed in the various go-to \u2018find your trusted builder here\u2019 sites, following up on referrals from friends, crossing off names of companies that had provided less than satisfactory service (I wondered what was buried beneath one of those lumpy looking new decks in photos of work shared on the internet). We talked about somehow doing it ourselves, knowing that it would take all the weekends into the next millennium.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nWe were driving through a mall parking lot when we saw a large black van pull up to the curb near us. On the side, in large white letters, said DECKS. I slammed on the brakes, turned the car around, and pulled up next to the van. I jumped out of the car and practically tackled the guy as he got out.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nHe was startled, but after listening to our tale of woe, gave me his card and told me to call him. I made that call early the next day. He arrived at the house a few days later to assess the damage and discuss what he could do. The deck gods were kind and had delivered a nice young man, experienced in the ways of all things deck. He showed us photos of other jobs, and emailed an estimate. Sticker shock. Almost double what had been the norm just three years before. But we needed the deck replaced. A confluence of events during the Pandemic had created a rotting deck with normal maintenance impossible, and we were desperate.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nIn prep for the arrival of his crew some two months later, we needed to remove shrubs and bushes that surrounded the deck and ramp leading up to it. Digging next to a structure for days in a row let me get a close look at the underlying structure that would be replaced. Total tear-down was necessary. Previous repairs had left the support system in place, but that would not be possible now. Everything had to go, beams, railings, everything. One of the bushes had grown to fifteen feet tall and has to be cut back each year to allow access to the ramp. It\u2019s a haven for birds all year round, but is loaded with inch long thorns that will rip your skin to shreds if you get too close. While I couldn\u2019t move it, I could certainly cut it back to make a safer work site. Cut it back, cover the remaining six feet tall multiple trunks, with a tarp. There was no need to have bloody workers.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nBut, you know me. I began to think of other safety concerns. I looked up the stats at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NOISH) and saw that in 2019 there were 11 million construction workers on the official books of licensed contractors. Who knows how many unofficial ones there are? I was stunned at how many fatalities there are on the job with licensed contractors and fully permitted sites. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n


\nReasons for the 991 recorded deaths on the job in 2019:<\/span><\/p>\n