Is your deck child safe? Your whole family loves to use the deck so you want to make sure that it is safe enough for even the smallest members to enjoy.

Please ensure that you plan to have a child safe deck.  This should be discussed while you are designing your deck to ensure there are no unforeseen accidents waiting to happen.

Even if your deck is not a high one, a rail is a good safety measure to take. An unnecessary fall can be prevented this way. Also a child safety gate will be required if there are stairs built to and from your deck.  The stairs should be able to have a safety gate fit at them to prevent sudden falls down the stairs. Accidents happen too fast if you’re not prepared for them.

Another safety precaution to take is to ensure that the materials you pick up from the building center are rounded and smooth.  If the deck has splinters in it, you are sure to have a child (or adult) end up with a splinter in their foot.  The deck will have to be inpected and sanded to get rid of any splinters from time to time.

Another precaution to take is protection from the sun. If you’ve got a lot of sun hitting the area of the deck, think about building some protection like an overhang or a canopy. This will block the sun from unnecessary sun exposure.  Of course sunblock should also always be worn outsie.

Try to think like your child would. Does he/she liket to climb? Squeeze through little open spaces?  Put this thought into your plan to have no temptations for climbing things and squeezing through wide slats on your railing.  Make the slats very narrow to avoid any of these ideas getting in to their little heads.

Your deck is there for you and your whole family to enjoy so a lot of thought has to be put into the planning as to how to keep everyone, especially your little ones safe. Thinking ahead before you build can help you avoid any unnecessary accidents down the road.  Sometimes it’s good to hire a professional deck builder.