The deck attached to my house is 36 years old and was built when the house was.
Deck is 12′ X 12′ and attached to the house via a ledger. 4″ X 4″ posts in poured concrete piers. Joists are 2″ X 8″ 16 inches on center. Surface boards are 1″ X 4″. Deck surface is approximately 22″ above the ground.
Everything is PT.
Deck not used very much, except for using the barbeque, and I’v only stained it a few times over the years.
I recently pressure washed it and was going to stain it but I noticed that one of the deck boards had split at a knot and a few others had problems at knots.
My plan was to remove some deck boards to check the condition of the joists and the ledger. The deck boards are attached with 2 1/2″ scew shank nails and are a bear to remove. If framing was in good shape I was going to just replace some or all of the deck boards. I checked the posts at pier level and didn’t find any problems. I poked the joists via the floor board gaps and everything was solid but there was no waterproofing material on the tops of the joists.
Would you A. Replace just the bad deck boards OR B. Replace all the deck boards with the same type of decking and add waterproofing OR C. Replace all the deck boards with a maintenance free decking and add waterproofing.
What’s got me up in the air is the longevity of the joists and ledger knowing that waterproofing was not done.
Thank You
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Replies
I'd go with option C. When you have decking removed go over every joist with awl checking for soundness and replace as necessary. Apply grace membrame on top of joists. I prefer Azek, I've used it since it came out and every deck is still looking like new. I blind screw.
I started replacing deck boards one by one; every year a few of them go. By now Ive replaced half the deck and I wish I had just bit the bullet and did the whole thing at once. Start fresh and do it right. Maybe there's another project you can use the salvageable deck boards on.
The deck surface boards are fir. I bought several new boards. I removed the split board and the joists are in good shape. The deck boards were nailed using 2 1/2" spiral nails and they were not easy to remove. I have several tools for removing the nails but it was slow going. I used screws for the replacement board. The 1 X 4 fir was $2.00 per LF. I called a few local lumber yards and asked if I could buy just 12 footers. They all said that the bundles were random length and that they would discourage my picking out just 12 footers.
Any suggestions for a quicker and easier way to remove the spiral nails?
Any suggestons for the decking....use random length fir or something else?
I have used AZEK for house trim and like it but the cost is a turn-off. If new fir lasts as long as what I currently have it will outlive me.
The beauty of Azek is "zero" maintenance. From my perspective that is worth the extra cost. Of all the Azek decks I have installed "zero" call backs.
No doubt the nails are a b$%ch to remove.
I'd let them pull thru the removed deck board, snap them off, and beat the remaining portion into the top of the joist.
Capital B.
I ordered a DuckBill Deck Wrecker today to pry up the boards.