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08:32:15 am on May 11, 2009 | # |
I had some friends over for a BBQ on Sunday. When everyone was on the deck, I noticed it felt like it was moving a little, some boards are loose and the stain has worn away – it was built with my house in the 1980’s. How do I know if I should replace it? Is this something I can do myself?
Remodeling Specialist
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atdnathan
catmanatl
davidshammer 1:56 pm on May 22, 2009 | # |
Decks from that era were made with Pressure Treated wood that had ACC compounds. This gave the deck about a 15 to 20 yr life span depending on ongoing maintenance and repair. Since your deck is about 29 yrs old, I’m sure it’s time to have someone look it over.
The 3 main areas to check are the main framework of the deck, how the deck is attached to the house (ledger board and flashing), and the cross bracing (if there is any). If the above deck is still in good shape and the deck is still securely attached without wood rot on either the deck of the attached portion of the home then it could be the cross bracing. If there isn’t any cross bracing or if it is rotted, this would make the deck ’sway’ with a load on it. Cross bracing looks like an ‘X’ going from one support post to another. Add cross bracing all the way around and that will take the movement away. That is, of course, unless it’s either poorly attached to the house or if the framing is rotted. Then I highly recommend to stay off the deck until you call someone with experience on repairing decks before stepping back on it.
Hope this helps. Happy BBQing!