Basketball ring safety this Christmas
November 17th 2008 06:07
With basketball rings a popular Christmas gift, it’s important that households are reminded of the installation guidelines. It’s common to mount basketball rings to the single layer of bricks found above many garage doors, but by doing so you could create a dangerous situation by causing the wall to collapse.
Nine guidelines were developed for the safe installation, safe use and maintenance of basketball rings after the death of a child slam dunking almost three years ago. It was the third death in Victoria of a child hit by bricks through a collapse of a wall by the unsafe installation of basketball rings.
Following these commonsense guidelines will ensure the gift of a basketball ring this Christmas does not end in disaster:
1. Always tell children to never hang or swing off the ring.
2. Dismantle any ring and backboard currently mounted on a single skin of brickwork – such as brickwork above a garage door.
3. Do not fix any ring and backboard under any circumstances to a single skin of brickwork
4. Do not use any ring and backboard currently mounted on any brickwork until it has been checked for structural safety.
5. A ring and backboard in normal suburban backyards, should ideally be fixed to a hot dip galvanised steel post.
6. Follow the manufacturer’s instruction when attaching the basketball ring to the backboard, and the backboard to the post.
7. Check the stability of the post, brick wall or any other supporting structure on a regular basis, as it can deteriorate over time.
8. Ensure that water does not pond at the post – footing connection, this is especially important in salt water environments.
9. If there is any doubt about the safety or stability of an installation, consult a structural engineer.
10. For more information go to www.buildingcommission.com.au
Info from the Building Commission Victoria
Nine guidelines were developed for the safe installation, safe use and maintenance of basketball rings after the death of a child slam dunking almost three years ago. It was the third death in Victoria of a child hit by bricks through a collapse of a wall by the unsafe installation of basketball rings.
Following these commonsense guidelines will ensure the gift of a basketball ring this Christmas does not end in disaster:
1. Always tell children to never hang or swing off the ring.
2. Dismantle any ring and backboard currently mounted on a single skin of brickwork – such as brickwork above a garage door.
3. Do not fix any ring and backboard under any circumstances to a single skin of brickwork
4. Do not use any ring and backboard currently mounted on any brickwork until it has been checked for structural safety.
5. A ring and backboard in normal suburban backyards, should ideally be fixed to a hot dip galvanised steel post.
6. Follow the manufacturer’s instruction when attaching the basketball ring to the backboard, and the backboard to the post.
7. Check the stability of the post, brick wall or any other supporting structure on a regular basis, as it can deteriorate over time.
9. If there is any doubt about the safety or stability of an installation, consult a structural engineer.
10. For more information go to www.buildingcommission.com.au
Info from the Building Commission Victoria
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