What's usually gone wrong
Old timber decks in the Vale tend to fail from the bottom up. Posts set straight into wet clay rot at ground level, joists spaced for thin softwood boards sag, and boards laid tight together trap water until they split. By the time the surface looks bad, the frame underneath is often worse.
Re-deck or start again?
Occasionally an old frame is still solid, level and has joists close enough together to take new boards, and then re-decking in composite is a sensible saving. More often we find rot at the posts or ledger, and starting again from new footings is the only way to get a deck that lasts. We'll lift a board and show you what we find.
Doing it properly second time round
We clear the old deck away, sort out the ground and drainage, set new posts on concrete footings clear of the clay, build a ventilated frame at the right spacing and lay new boards, with steps, fascias and any balustrades or lighting you'd like. Many people take the chance to go bigger, change the shape or switch to composite.
Common questions
Do you replace odd boards?
Our work is replacing decks and re-boarding sound frames, rather than swapping the odd board.
Can the new deck go in the same place?
Usually, yes, though it's worth thinking about whether that's still the best spot for the sun and the view. We'll talk it over.