Minor Deck Repair Assessment

Series Summary

Wood is a precious resource for many reasons, not the least of which is for its construction potential. Wood decks are not only beautiful but they can last for many years of hard use. Additionally you can repair a wood deck several times before needing to build a new deck. This conserves wood, money, and time. Repairing wood decks is cost effective and easy with free instructions from an expert.

Steve Snow, owner and operator of Decks R Us is a deck repair expert who can show you how to repair your wood deck in this free video series. Steve will show you how to assess major and minor deck damage and how to repair that damage. He will demonstrate how to sand old stain off of a deck and how to prepare the deck for sanding. He will show you what demolition tools you will need and what repair tools you will need to repair a wood deck. Additionally Steve will demonstrate how to remove old boards and rails, and how to install new deck boards.

Video Transcript

"This is an old deck where the joist were bad and this tongue and groove pine was on the deck which I have not ever seen before. This was totally unacceptable. I took up all of the tongue and groove going across the deck (12X17). The joist were all bad, so I have to replace the joist down here and the face board. This is what I got up from the deck, a bunch of these old tongue and groove pine boards and replaced all these joists down here. I am using recycled wood here that I have taken off other decks and it is not pine. It is the redwood. It's sufficient enough, good enough shape that I am reusing it and I am going to take a drum sander and re-sand it all and finish and it will look fantastic with a stain on it. On this part of the deck, which is still the tongue and groove pine wood, which is not the greatest thing to use outside but this is still alright. You see how it has weathered so much here and dried out and checked and cracked from moisture, ran, the sun beating on it and this is just a small area here probably about 6X4 that I be sanded down and will be fine. As you go on over you notice that there's the a paint or stain over here where it is more solid. All the rest of the deck is just solid stain, so we are going to take the 8" drum sander and run all this down and strip all this paint or stain. Take it down at least 1/16" or more. We use a 36 grit when we start and just rip on it and then I go to 100 or 120 grit to smooth it out. And that's how we prep up the wood to get it down for a new finish."