Wooden Deck Replacement Doesn’t Require Any Change In Substructure

Have you recently purchased a home with a deck that has seen better days? Perhaps you already own your own house and, once upon a time, it had a beautiful deck that you either installed or had professionally installed. Did you take expert care of it to prevent decay? No. So, it too has seen better days and is in need of either individual board replacement or the replacement of all surface boards. Wooden deck replacement can be underestimated if not approached carefully. Rather than using old-school wood, consider using composite – but that’s only the beginning.

Even if you decide to use composite with which to replace your old wooden boards, there are a number of things to consider when refurbishing your deck. Let’s take a look at wooden deck replacement and substructures.

Composite Deck Boards Versus Wood

As previously mentioned, natural wood warps, splinters, and rots. Eventually, the nails and screws that hold boards in place can no longer do their job because the wood has rotted away around them. Whenever possible, old wooden boards should be replaced with composite.

Make no mistake about the composite deck boards you’re going to use to replace your old wooden boards – we are referring to new age composite rather than older, first-generation composites. Those old-school composites did not hold up well, they cost more, and they were heavier than wood! Even worse, when they got wet, they got slippery. From a quality manufacturer, purchase only modern composites with which to restore your deck surface. Here are the advantages of today’s composite boards. They are:

• Moisture resistant
• UV resistant
• Slip resistant
• Scratch resistant

Combined together, those factors make composite decking aesthetically attractive (even after long periods of time) and barefoot friendly. Now let’s check out the old substructure of your deck.

Composite Boards on Top of an Old, Existing Structure

When it comes to deck construction, standards have risen over the last few decades. To support composite deck boards, most existing wooden structures are more than adequate (this can include joists, horizontal beams, and vertical posts).

You’ll need to look for particular standards if you’re going to use composite to replace the wooden surface of your deck. Here’s what you need to keep an eye out for:

• Fasteners – they must be holding and structurally sound. The fasteners should not be damaged by excessive corrosion, but a small amount is allowable.
• Joists – these should be spaced 16 inches from the centerlines of the above boards and at a right angle to the above deck boards. The middle of the joist’s narrow side is where the centerline is located.
• Posts – they should all be 4 x 4’s. (This actually equates to 3.5 x 3.5 because, rather than the numbers they are called by, lumber dimensions are, in truth, half an inch smaller.) To see if the posts in existence meet your needs, measure the face.

Do you need some of the wooden boards in your deck replaced? Perhaps you want to go one step further and replace all the wood or even the entire deck – including the substructure. By contracting a professional deck service, you can be better assured of durable workmanship with appropriate materials and a guarantee for added peace of mind.