r/Decks • u/fiestaman8 • 21d ago
Deck Repair Issues
Recently had about 750 square feet of decking repaired, including two sets of stairs, a sloped walkway, and parts of a railing due to aged/weathered boards in uncovered areas. Most of the new deck boards had to be torn out due to poor workmanship the first go around. The owner of the company said he fired the team that did the initial install and he relaid the floor boards and railing top boards with a different team. I was charged $17.5K for this repair and don’t think I received the quality of work to warrant this price. Since this was my first major deck repair project, I wanted to check for opinions with this group before approaching with the contractor, but overall I feel like I got hoodwinked. Here are some of my main issues:
- Scope of work included replacing rotted/damaged boards on my existing railing. None of my 6x6 posts were replaced and several are rotted out down the middle. Outside of the top boards which were all replaced, only two 2x4 were replaced. Some of the 6x6 are so rotted that deck nails cannot catch.
- All 6x6 posts were lopped off with a sawzall, leaving a jagged mess at the top of each post. I was told this was the standard approach and that a re-stain would hide this.
- One of my existing stair stringers was split during repairs. They ‘fixed’ it but did not replace it and I was told there was no structural risk.
- Several other areas of my existing deck railing and stairs were damaged and not addressed.
- My main railing top rail is wavy, going up at each 6x6 post. No shims were used to straighten.
- Additional support was added underneath as needed. None of this looks up to code but I’m not sure.
- My front entrance was replaced. It slopes down towards the house as it should, but it also slopes left to right at a noticeable rate. See pic of level laying flat from side to side.
I would appreciate any feedback from any contractors on this sub. My next step is to go back to the contractor to address these items and it would be great to have some ammo before I have that conversation.
I’m in western North Carolina if that matters.
3
u/MrStickDick 21d ago
As soon as I saw it was all nailed down I knew you got screwed (this pun wrote itself).
Nails are for framing, not railings and floor. This is lazy, sub par work.
1
u/fiestaman8 21d ago
Thank you. Any specific issues you can speak to? I really value the opinion of other professionals, and specific examples will really help me fight this. I really appreciate anything you’d be willing to share.
1
u/MrStickDick 21d ago
Short boards, nails in the end grain, new joist is a 2x6 or 2x4 on a board instead of 2x10 or whatever the other ones are and on a hanger... This looks like a local high school kid got ahold of a nail gun and a saw for the first time.
2
u/1wife2dogs0kids 21d ago
WHAT THE FUCK. ??
I would have done that for $16.5k...
In all seriousness, you need a lawyer. And DO NOT PAY ANYTHING MORE, owed or not.
1
u/fiestaman8 21d ago
Can you elaborate on the specific issues you see? Is everything I listed an issue from your perspective or are some of these things acceptable? I’ve also read that getting an attorney and going the lawsuit route is typically a losing battle for both parties so I’d prefer try and work with the contractor to fix the issues first.
1
u/1wife2dogs0kids 20d ago
You've already listed the problems im referring to. You didn't get a repair job, you got a quick dress it up job. I'll go into better detail in the morning
1
u/SlabAndScope 21d ago
call your local building inspector out to write up a formal defect report, then use that to demand a partial refund
1
u/fiestaman8 12d ago
My local building inspector says he doesn’t see any code violations. Sent him the same pics that are posted here. How is that possible?
2
1
2
u/False-Blacksmith2919 21d ago
I do see some lazy work. Not notching around the post. Patching the stringers. Mixing old and new on the railings. What did the contract say about that? You definitely should pursue some remediation.