The WP Fail-Safe Story

Helping Homeowners and contractors alike, to build better structures, one pier footer at a time.

The Fail Safe Pier Footer was created to solve a very simple problem, the complete lack of understanding by the Building Industry as a whole regarding concrete foundations and the lack thereof under up to 70% of all Decks built in America.

The Building Code Officials and Building Inspections Departments pre drawn deck plans details regarding Foundations for Decks and Sunrooms is wrong in most respects.

The foundation drawings that are supplied have been copied and pasted for the past 20 years, without regard to American Concrete Institute criteria  regarding correct construction methods that will resist all loads exerted to, on and through the pier footings.

Concrete is great in COMPRESSION the loads that properly mixed and placed concrete supports  is incredible, however, Concrete is not great in TENSION unless it is reinforced with REBAR.

Many of the toughest Building Departments in the Country DO NOT conduct a Footing Inspection even when a Building Permit is obtained and a “Footing Inspection” is requested by either the Contractor and or the Home Owner.

Even Fairfax County of Virginia does not conduct a “Footing Inspection”, the Building Inspector visits the Job site and conducts a “HOLE INSPECTION”, whereby they Measure the Depth of the excavation, Measure the Width of the excavation and may or may not inspect the Soil conditions. NEVER at any time does the Building Inspector, visually see or inspect a “Footing” as no concrete has been placed into the Excavation.

When the Building Department Inspector leaves the Contractor and or Home Owners are free to do anything they want to do.

As the Building Inspector comes back for “Final Inspection” all they see is a Post buried in the ground coming up attached to a Girder/Beam. No One has verified and or “Inspected the Foundation”.

Due to this malfeasance we were uncovering/excavating existing Permitted Decks so the Building Inspector could see the Pier Footing as we were upgrading the Deck into a Sunroom Platform.

Over 80% of the time there was not any type of correct “Pier Footing” under the existing deck structure.

The ones that were there were so inadequate and inferior to the bare code minimum is why the Fail Safe Pier Footing was invented.

 Building Code as well as Building and Permitting Departments are not protecting the Public from extreme harm such as Serious Injury and or Death from Deck Collapse that are occurring more frequently than ever due to ROTTEN Structural Posts being Buried below grade when the chemicals used to Pressure Treat them have proven to FAIL within 3 to 10 years above grade, let alone below grade.