Repairing The Top Of Your Deck

Is your deck looking old and tired? Are you thinking about changing the top boards because they are showing signs of rot and age? Have you decided that it's time to pull them up and replace them with new ones?

Be prepared that the top boards on your deck might not be the only problem that you have to have repaired once the removal of them is completed.

A lot of times when the top of a deck requires replacing their are other things that need to be repaired or replaced.

The frame of your deck is also made out of wood, usually pressure treated, pressure treated does not last forever, in fact the less air that pressure treated is exposed to the less it is able to dry and the faster it breaks down or rots.

When you have the top pulled off the deck you will then be able to examine the frame closely. You will have to replace any rotten joist or beam boards with new ones.

Depending on the age of the deck and who built it you might find more then just rotten boards. Since you have taken the time to remove the top this is the time to make any modifactions to the deck structure itself. Have your contractor take a close look at he beams, the foundation, the attachment to the house, the grade and the slope of the land under the deck and also have them check to see how level the deck is as a whole.

This is the time to fix someones poor choices or workmenship. A lot of decks are built by homeowners looking to save money or by handymen that do not charge enough to do the job right, when they are done and for the first couple of years the deck looks really good, but overtime the deck starts to show its flaws.

Fro Example:

We once removed the top off a very large deck at a clients cottage, when we did that we noticed some rotten joist that needed to be replaced,but we also noticed that the middle of the deck was lower then the rest. The main support beam was either sunken or installed originally lower. When we jacked the beam up to level it the footing tubes that it was sitting on actually fell over! The tubes had only been placed in the ground about a foot, this was the reason that the beam was low, it didn't have a proper support structure. We had to hand dig down 4 feet and install new footing tubes and fill them full of concrete. Then we were able to re-level the main beam properly with the confidence that it would stay that way once we re-installed the top of the deck.

There are other reasons to start altering the substructure of the deck, if you plan to get a hot tub and you want it where the deck. Hot tubs when they are full of water are like parking a car on your deck, that's a lot of weight. You will have to either build a sub structure that is extremely strong or you will have to remove the deck substructure in that area and pour a concrete pad for it to sit on.

Building in seating or a privacy fence is another reason to alter the substructure, anchoring these in the frame are the best way to ensure that they stay strong and straight for the decks lifetime.

Whatever you decide to do make sure that you budget in a contingency into your deck re-topping for repairs as on older deck there bound to happen.

The best way to get your deck fixed so that it lasts as long as it should is to have it fixed by a professional, call a contractor and have them fix it right.

Email Village Builders at info@villagebuilders.ca and lets get your deck fixed the right way.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.