I submitted this elsewhere, but was hoping maybe some of you guys know how to do this stuff better than I can sort out from the intrawebs and experience. @dan-o Anybody else do home building/general contracting?
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I have a large, elevated deck (~10ft up) with two pergolas and Trex surface in need of maintenance. We bought the house as-is about a year ago and have been working our way through priority items and have finally made it to the deck. The surface and railings were replaced about 2.5 years ago with Trex after a really bad hail storm, but I have no idea about the level of maintenance/work done on the rest of the deck. Given the other work that I have come across in the house (almost electrocuted earlier due to non-code work), I have low confidence levels in pretty much anything that I am going to come across.
There are a few issues that I can identify immediately:
- at least four joists showing substantial dry rot, four or five more showing signs as well. One of which is at least 12ft long and goes through a cross-beam and is inaccessible to the rear because of a large shed. There are 25 joists on the deck.
- the remaining are all readily accessible on both ends, but do go over the horizontal main support. Getting them in and out from beneath should be easy enough though. If you look at the images, he put space fillers in between the joists to make it look more solid.
- On of the railing supports has a very, very shady repair that was done to keep it from shaking too badly during the open houses and sale process. However, the repair did a ton of damage to the rim joist (the outer frame, I think that's what it's called), so one of the lengths is now in need of replacement along with the actual railing support.
- Nails are working themselves out throughout the deck. I was going to get my ladder out and go to town today but paused to get feedback, as some of those nails might need to come out for repairs. You can see the extent in the imgur album below.
https://imgur.com/a/cImWXgt
Important details:
- I'm in Colorado, so we get full weather cycles. The deck is south-west facing and melts off almost immediately, no matter what the temperature is, as long as there is sun.
- With it being south-west facing, it gets blisteringly hot during the summer. The deck surface is probably 100*+ right now, ~90* outside.
- I'm not married to non-pressure treated wood; I just want repairs to last. The current sealant is Sherman Williams Deckscapes. I have no idea how long it has been since it was last treated, so part of this process will likely involve sealing/treating it.
What I am trying to avoid is pulling up the surface to do the work on my own. I have a dog whose door access during the day is via the upstairs sliding door and a six year old who I don't trust to pay attention to not walking out the door blindly.
Questions:
It's a big project, but and expensive one to contract out, so doing it in-house is my goal. Recommendations and suggestions as to how things should be done - order of operations, etc. - are greatly appreciated!
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I have a large, elevated deck (~10ft up) with two pergolas and Trex surface in need of maintenance. We bought the house as-is about a year ago and have been working our way through priority items and have finally made it to the deck. The surface and railings were replaced about 2.5 years ago with Trex after a really bad hail storm, but I have no idea about the level of maintenance/work done on the rest of the deck. Given the other work that I have come across in the house (almost electrocuted earlier due to non-code work), I have low confidence levels in pretty much anything that I am going to come across.
There are a few issues that I can identify immediately:
- at least four joists showing substantial dry rot, four or five more showing signs as well. One of which is at least 12ft long and goes through a cross-beam and is inaccessible to the rear because of a large shed. There are 25 joists on the deck.
- the remaining are all readily accessible on both ends, but do go over the horizontal main support. Getting them in and out from beneath should be easy enough though. If you look at the images, he put space fillers in between the joists to make it look more solid.
- On of the railing supports has a very, very shady repair that was done to keep it from shaking too badly during the open houses and sale process. However, the repair did a ton of damage to the rim joist (the outer frame, I think that's what it's called), so one of the lengths is now in need of replacement along with the actual railing support.
- Nails are working themselves out throughout the deck. I was going to get my ladder out and go to town today but paused to get feedback, as some of those nails might need to come out for repairs. You can see the extent in the imgur album below.
https://imgur.com/a/cImWXgt
Important details:
- I'm in Colorado, so we get full weather cycles. The deck is south-west facing and melts off almost immediately, no matter what the temperature is, as long as there is sun.
- With it being south-west facing, it gets blisteringly hot during the summer. The deck surface is probably 100*+ right now, ~90* outside.
- I'm not married to non-pressure treated wood; I just want repairs to last. The current sealant is Sherman Williams Deckscapes. I have no idea how long it has been since it was last treated, so part of this process will likely involve sealing/treating it.
What I am trying to avoid is pulling up the surface to do the work on my own. I have a dog whose door access during the day is via the upstairs sliding door and a six year old who I don't trust to pay attention to not walking out the door blindly.
Questions:
- Should I for safety sake just go to town with the hammer and start beating things in? My initial gut and everything from all work I've ever done before says resoundingly yes, then deal with pulling out nails as needed.
- What is the best way to remove the rotted joists and replace them? Pull the filler wood pieces (see images), remove deck screws from above, then just cut it and drop it?
- What it the best way to install the replacement joists? I can't find anything clear on youtube actually showing how to do it. I know that I need to use new hangers.
- With the really long joist, I have a feeling that I will be cutting out the last four or five feet, then sistering it. I was planning a 3ft overlap on each end, which should be more than sufficient. In this case, what is the best binding method? I was planning drill through and bolt it twice on each side of the cut.
- The big beast is the rim joist; this has a lot of sub-questions as well
- What is the best way to replace this? All of the joists dead-end into is and have joist hangers attaching it to the deck.
- As the railing posts are attached to the rim joist, what is the best way to support the railing while it is off? I was thinking just a triangle support attached 90* to the railing itself? I know for the pergola I would just put up a 2x4 to support it temporarily. More experience would be appreciated though.
- For re-mounting the railing post, what is the best way to mount them to get rigidity. Obviously bolt straight through isn't sufficient.
- What is the best way to replace this? All of the joists dead-end into is and have joist hangers attaching it to the deck.
It's a big project, but and expensive one to contract out, so doing it in-house is my goal. Recommendations and suggestions as to how things should be done - order of operations, etc. - are greatly appreciated!
