THE DUCT TAPE HOUSE
Even with the basic visual inspection it was easy to see this deck was in extreme disrepair. However, you never know exactly how bad the condition is until you put your hands on it.
I’m willing to bet that the previous owner hadn’t stepped foot on that deck in years (& not 1 or 2)!
Once we began deconstructing the deck, the building components were in such poor shape that we were scratching our heads wondering how the deck was even standing. All the wood posts were completely rotted off at the ground.
We did use saws to cut up the deck boards, but we could have definitely broken this one up with sledge hammers if we had to.
We ended up building the new deck back the same size and location (including the stairs) as the previous deck.
We elected to finish the deck in a neutral stain with slightly darker color to help keep down maintenance, as there is an large oak tree just off the corner of the deck, which are known to drop leaves, acorns, and catskins (aka “tassels”) all which can transfer pigment onto the deck.