As part of our decking restoration service, we are able to offer minor decking repairs.
Does your deck feel soft or spongy? Is it rotting away? Our decking repairs service may be what you need.
Although we’re not decking builders or carpenters. Our decking repairs service covers minor repairs and board replacement. We are usually able to source suitable replacement boards to suit your existing deck. Depending on the age of the wood, some profiles may not be available. We will always offer advice if your exact board is no longer available.
In the UK it is common to have grooved softwood decking. Softwood decking doesn’t have a particularly long lifespan, without regular maintenance. It can soon fall into disrepair if not maintained often. It is best to treat a deck every 1-2 years with a good quality decking oil. If a deck isn’t maintained, it will start to look tired quite fast. This can lead to cracking and rotting of the wood.
Board Replacement
Once a deck begins to rot there isn’t much you can do apart from replacing it.
The deck below is enclosed with trees, this creates shade and detritus. The deck struggles to dry completely even during the summer. This excess water contributes to the boards rotting away. Although only a couple of boards are rotten, the customer wanted it all replaced.
This deck has the typical hole from a plant pot. Pots look lovely, but regular watering has led to extra moisture. This becomes trapped beneath the pot causing the wood to rot.
Overlaying
Not something that’s done except in extreme circumstances. Removing the old boards and replacing them with new ones is the best method. On top of this deck was a rather large cabin. Combine this with the lack of support joists on the outer areas. The original 4.6M length boards used meant cutting out and replacing would be difficult.
The joists were about 6″ in from the edge of the cabin. Since the boards were rotten, there was no way to replace them. The only way to ensure safety was to lay new boards under the cabin (approx 1/2m under). They were then secured through the existing wood and joists. We added some extra sister joists in for strength and cut notches for the cabin base joists. This gave a cleaner more uniform finish.
In an ideal world, it would have been best to remove the cabin, unfortunately, this wasn’t an option. We had to do our best with the situation at hand.
Deck Board Flipping
Some deck boards have a grooved side and a smooth side; in reality, the grooves should face down to improve airflow. However, it has become a common practice to fit them groove side up.
This deck had years of deck stain applied. It was so thick in places that the grooves were barely visible. Without the use of serious stripper and labour time, it was more cost-effective to flip the deck over. Luckily on the underside was a near-perfect smooth board. We ran the orbital wood scrubber/sander over it to reveal a fresh deck ready for oil.
