Rehab Deck to Retain Original Charm
This is a rehab of and existing deck in Wallingford; just one of the many carpentry jobs we do. There are almost 700 square ft. of deck here, including all areas, like walkways, landings and steps. They liked the original deck design, especially the balcony, so we wanted to just restore its function and beauty. We accomplished that by replacing all the pilings and footings one at a time. Later we swapped out any joists that weren’t in great shape, including all of the exposed rim joists. And lastly they chose all composite decking materials on top.
Composite Decking
Everything was done with Timbertech composite decking and rails. Composite decking is a thing beautiful to see; it has such a perfect finish. And being composite it stays looking the same way for a very long time.
Being composite decking you’ll want the decking boards picture-framed around to perimeter. We do this to hide the cut end of the boards, which aren’t finished. On the step edges you’ll want to brush on a good exterior paint scanned to the same color. Also you can see that a facial board covers the framing, which is about 11 inches.
Steep Slope Makes it Difficult
This deck was at the top of a steep embankment leading to a stream below. Much of Wallingford is hilly in this neighborhood. And what makes working on a slope like this so difficult is it’s impossible to get a machine into position to mechanize the digging of these footings. So, they all have to be dug out by hand. That made this job labor intensive, which should end up to be very expensive for the homeowner.
There were 20 holes to dig, seven were 16 inches wide, and thirteen were 12 inches wide. They were all 48-inch deep forms, projecting out of the ground almost a foot. We used 176 bags of concrete, 80 lbs. each. That’s a lot of concrete to mix and pour and just as much muscle power. However, the guys seem to power through it okay.
Repair Deficiencies
The weakest areas of the original deck were the footings and the stairs. We had to completely reframe the stairs and landing with their several footings.
And all deficiencies were corrected and updated with the newest and best materials. So, it should be good for another 40 years. The only regret is that they can’t use it 12 months a year, but it gives you something to look forward to in the spring!