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Tear
down my Deck or Replace as needed?
Information Guide
Should I replace my existing deck –
tear it down and start all over?
Or can I just replace
certain parts of it and the frame?
Most of the time your structural parts are in decent
shape and will prove safe for future guests. If that is
true, then all you have to do is replace your existing top
deck boards or certain bad boards and bad rails and stairs
thereby saving considerably in comparison to a complete deck
rebuild.
This brings up a question, how can I tell if my deck is
still in good structural shape? Can I remodel my present
deck with long lasting composite decking and rails? These
questions will be answered along with practical tips.
Expect to spend more than a few weekends to finish your
project. What is nice though, is that you can work at your
project in sections thereby not disturbing the household, or
making it very inconvenient, but be sure you block off or
lock access doors that open onto the deck to ensure
everyone’s safety till you are finished. Tools that are
needed for the project include a 4 foot level or bigger,
screw gun, circular saw, measure tape, carpenters square,
and a miter saw for accurate cuts on angles and rails. For
demo work, you’ll need a sledgehammer, pry bars, and you may
have to curt some wood boards in half to make it easier to
pry off and easier for disposal.
First lets discuss if your deck should be completely
remodeled; 1. Lets start from the ground up. Check the
footings, look to see if your upright posts are warped or
the deck itself above the footings looks warped. If it
looks warped, your footings may not be very deep into the
ground. To ensure a good footing, you can replace them with
deeper ones, by digging right next to the old footing, and
pour a new cement footing.
2. Next examine the posts themselves, and all of the
framing, to see if the wood is sound, not rotted or badly
cracked. To check for rot use a sharp tool such as a
screwdriver or pointed tool. Probe for soft spongy wood.
If found you should replace the wood at least up to one foot
each way past the rotted area to ensure you have removed the
rotted piece.
It’s best then to replace the rotted wood with pressure
treated wood of the same dimension. Never use cedar or
redwood to frame a deck. If your deck is framed in that
material, it’s best to tear it down and start over, since
these woods are not recommended for framing due to their
ability to take the load.
To check your structural integrity of the frame, make a
drawing of your deck, the sizes of the lumber, and the spans
of all major pieces. This is for you to take to the
Building department for an inspector to see. By doing so
you will know if your deck frame is structurally sound and
the spans are adequate and safe for the existing load of
the deck. You can apply for a building permit too and get
an on-site inspection for further safety reasons.
4. Other building considerations: When using lag screws
which in this case, bolt into the ledger between your joists
into the house or structure, use ½ inch lag screws.
Sometimes the Building department for only require 3/8 inch,
so ask your local Inspector.
5. It’s required that all joists be attached at the ends
with a metal joist hanger. Make sure that each hanger is
nailed properly through the guide holes with hander nails,
not roofing nails. Next check you metal flashing that is
usually found behind the deck ledger, which is attached to
your house or structure from which the joists run out.
There must be flashing behind this deck ledger at the bottom
and over the wood siding. If it is not there, you need to
add it so water does not accumulate in the cracks and sits
against the structure causing wood rot.
6. Unleash the demo crew. Actually it doesn’t take too
long to demo a deck. Now it’s time to demo the old deck,
assuming now that the frame is in good shape. You start
with knocking out the old railing with a sledgehammer. If
you are going to reuse any of the wood, you will have to
plan to remove it by first removing the nails or screws
carefully to reuse it. After the railing is removed, start
removing the old decking boards. If you have ordered a
dumpster then all the nails and lumber will obviously go
into the dumpster so your yard will not be a mess and a
potential injury area. As far as nails in the old wood,
don’t bother removing nails or screws if you are not going
to reuse this wood, just throw it away into the dumpster.
For wood that has lag screws in them such as posts, you may
have to loosen the bolts or screws to remove this wood.
7. Next remove the deck boards. Unscrew them or pry
them loose, using a crowbar, flat bar and a large pry bar,
starting at one end to the other. Start the removal process
opposite your structure or house so to have an easy way off
the deck. If nails were used, there will usually be left
some nails showing on the joists which will need pulling
out. If your deck was originally screwed down, this will
take more time to remove them. If the head is stripped,
here are some tips. Use a Phillips head that is new and
fits perfectly in to the screw head. If impossible to
remove and the head is somewhat up above the boards, you can
use vice grips on the head and turn the screw out. Another
way is to use a saws-all with a metal cutting blade and cut
the head off, the deck board will just pull out of the
leftover screw as you are prying the board out. Or try
drilling through the head removing most of it and then pry
the deck board over it. Any leftover screws on the joists
will break off by using a hammer to bang it back and forth
until it breaks off.
Part 2 Installing
deck boards and tips
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