Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff to grilling season, and for most of us in Berks County that means the deck is about to get a workout. Burgers, lawn chairs, a dozen people leaning on the railing to watch the kids in the yard — your deck is about to hold more weight and more traffic than it has all winter.

Which makes right now the perfect time for a five-minute walk-around.

We pulled a recent ValueGuard deck inspection and the findings read like a greatest-hits list of the things we see again and again on otherwise lovely decks. None of them are dramatic on their own. Together, they’re a great checklist for anyone firing up the grill this weekend. Here’s what to look for.

1 Give the railing a firm shake

The single item our inspector flagged as a genuine safety concern was a loose guardrail. A wobbly railing is the kind of thing you stop noticing after a while — until someone leans on it.

Grab the top rail and give it a good push outward and side to side. It should feel solid. If it moves, wiggles at the posts, or feels “springy,” it needs attention before your guests arrive. The fix is usually inexpensive (often in the $100–$200 range), but the consequences of ignoring it can be serious, especially on a raised deck.

While you’re there, run your hand along the top rail and look for splits in the wood. A cracked top rail looks harmless but can fail under pressure and leave splinters in unsuspecting forearms.

2 Look at the connectors, not just the boards

Here’s the part most homeowners skip: the metal hardware. On the deck we reviewed, the inspector noted damaged post hardware — the brackets and fasteners that tie the framing together.

This is the unglamorous, structural stuff. The decking surface can look perfect while a corroded or bent connector quietly does less and less of its job. Duck your head under the deck (if it’s raised) and look for rusted brackets, missing fasteners, or hardware pulling away from the wood. This is one of the more important items on the list because it’s about whether the deck stays standing, not just whether it looks nice.

3 Check where wood meets the ground

Two findings on this deck came down to moisture. The stair stringers — the angled boards the steps attach to — were in direct contact with the soil, and the staircase itself had begun to slope to one side.

Wood touching dirt is a slow-motion problem: it wicks up moisture, which invites rot and the insects that love rotting wood. A staircase that’s started to tilt can be an early sign of settling underneath. Neither is an emergency, but both are worth a contractor’s eyes before they get worse.

4 Watch for the buzzing freeloaders

The report also noted carpenter bee activity on the pergola above the deck. If you’ve ever seen a fat bee hovering at face height near your deck and then watched it disappear into a perfectly round hole in the wood, you’ve met them.

Carpenter bees drill tunnels into untreated wood to nest. The holes look minor but the damage compounds year over year, and the woodpeckers that hunt the larvae can make it worse. This same pergola also showed rot and deterioration — wood decay that compromises the structure and tends to spread if it’s left alone.

5 Mind the small stuff too

A few findings were genuinely minor: splits in some deck boards and a piece of loose trim. Surface splits are normal in wood decking, but deeper ones let water in and start the rot cycle. Loose trim is a quick fix. We mention these because the cheap, easy repairs are exactly the ones that prevent the expensive ones later.

The one thing you can’t check yourself

Worth a mention: on this inspection, the deck footings weren’t visible — they were buried or covered, so even a professional couldn’t confirm their depth or condition without digging. It’s a good reminder that some of a deck’s most important parts live underground and out of sight. If your deck is older or you’ve never had it evaluated, that hidden foundation is a big reason a professional inspection is worth it.

Your 5-minute Memorial Day deck check

Before the first guest shows up this weekend, walk your deck and ask:

• Does the railing feel rock-solid when I push on it?
• Any splits or cracks in the top rail or deck boards?
• Is the hardware under the deck rusty, loose, or missing?
• Are the stairs level, and is any wood touching the soil?
• Any round holes, sawdust, or soft spots that say bugs or rot?

If your walk-around turns up more than you’d like, or you’re buying a home with a deck and want to know what’s really going on with that hidden framing and those buried footings, that’s exactly what we’re here for. A professional eye on the structural details is the difference between guessing and knowing.

Have a safe, sturdy, and delicious Memorial Day, Berks County.

ValueGuard Inspections provides thorough residential and commercial inspections across Berks County and the surrounding area. Questions about your deck or anything else around the house? Reach out anytime.