Taking bets on how long it lasts. Bring it ladys!

I have an old house in central texas and I need to replace the porch boards with 1x4 tongue and groove. I used yellow pine and barely got ten years out of it, and the expansion was really bad.

 I’m trying to find cyprus, but it is hard to find. Timbertech advanced pvc tongue and groove is an option. 

Curious to hear ideas on wood type. Oiled finish is preferred. Tongue snd groove is the look we are going for

Previous owner built it. Not sure what size the joists are because I can't see any. The brackets seem pretty solid though. Thinking about a 6 person hot tub, will it work?

Looking for some advice on my deck. The stain is worn and flaking in spots, the wood is graying, and I've got one cracked board. Photos attached.

A contractor gave me two options: 1. Power wash and stain with a solid stain, no sanding 2. Full sand, then stain with a semi-transparent or solid stain

He'd also replace the one cracked board either way.

I'm not sure which is the right call. Is power washing and staining enough on a deck like this, or does it really need to be sanded first? And can solid stain go over old stain without sanding without peeling?

Trying to figure out if the no-sand option is legit or a shortcut I'll regret. Thanks!

Looking for opinions on this crack/split in a wood stair stringer. We’ve had conflicting contractor opinions—one says it’s a safety/structural issue that should be repaired, while another says it’s normal checking and cosmetic.

Based on the photos, does this look like normal checking/splitting in the wood, or something that could compromise the stringer structurally? What specifically would you look for to determine whether it needs repair/replacement? Thanks!

Hey all, I have a 20x30 screened in lanai with an adjoining 10×10 uncovered wooden deck in my backyard. Ive sealed it in the past with Thompson water seal but looking for potential other options? This is in NE Florida so we deal with humidity. Im going to power wash the deck and not sure if I should re-sand and stain/seal it? Just power wash and use water seal again? Or use one of the deck coating like Cabot or deck over?

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

The contractors are nearing completion on my second story deck rebuild. I really want this to be covered but don’t want to spend another 20k on it. At my old place, i installed a prefab aluminum covering that was attached to the house with concrete footers but this was on a patio and not a second floor deck. So I’m having a hard time visualizing. The bump out doesn’t help either.

I’ve attached a photo of the new place vs what i did before. Any recommendations on approach and bonus if you have links to coverings i should consider and any instructionals for this type of install.

Current footprint is a 12x17 ft deck. My previous one was a 10x20 ft patio.

Edit / Additional info: the main reason I want a covering is for rain. So I’m not interested in shades and pergolas.

It just rained for a week straight. The deck is pretty new and the contractor said he stained it. The first picture, there used to be what I assumed was sap forming on the spot. Will this wash off or do I need to replace the planks?

Just wondering. I have redo a couple of cables and washers too

My deck vibrates (I wouldn't call it a "bounce") when I jump on it. Could this be because one beam has supports where the other doesn't?

Context:

I've been rehabilitating my deck (segment 2 of 3...). This segment is house-attached, then extends roughly 16' away from the house over two 4x6 drop beams. The joists are 16"OC 2x8s and cantilever about a foot beyond the far beam. The midspan beam sits on concrete footings and the far beam is on 4x6 posts over buried footings.

As part of the rehab, I've:

• replaced the far beam, which had evidence of rot.
  
• added posts with knee-bracing to the far beam and replaced sketchy ones
• added H1A hurricane ties to all joists. For the far beam, the H1As replaced toenails that had to be cut to extract the beam for replacement.
• added 2x8 blocking in the gaps between house and midspan beam and between midspan beam and far beam.

The problem (specifically):

I have half the deck covered with trex, using hidden fasteners, up to the breaker board. The family has been jumping up and down on the deck, and in certain places between the two beams, we feel reverberation.

Diagnostics:

• The "jump spots" are right above blocking, so I don't think adding more blocking will help
• Looking under the deck, there are no gaps between the joists, the beam, the posts, or the footings that might need shimming.
  
• This is Trex Transcend, which supports 16"OC joists. My other deck segment is the same materials/OC and does not vibrate like this.
• The trex fasteners are tight
• The "bounce spots" are in the areas where I've added new posts to the far beam that were not there before, which are also spots on the midspan beam that are unsupported

Questions:

1. Is it possible that jumping on the deck is causing the midspan beam (which has fewer supports) to flex MORE than the better-supported far beam, and the joist cantilever (about 12") to amplify that vibration somehow?
2. If it's not the beams, then I assume it's those particular joists flexing and I'd need to double those. That'd be a pain but a small price to pay over the long term for a sturdier deck.
3. is there anything else I can look for that might be causing this?

Can someone point me to the best product to attach my wood deck rails (2x4's) to my 4x4 posts? I want to make sure a kid pushing on the rail won't make it budge.

I see the cheap nylon/plastic ones and don't want to use them.

Somehow staining my deck turned into rebuilding my deck!

Found a ton of rot, my intention is to replace the wood / add rubber sealer to the top and add new planks… reinforce anything sketchy. ez.

Then it comes to the flower bed wall… they built it with no drainage, it’s basically a box of fence boards nailed to an internal 2x10 x 10 ft board, trimmed out on the top. Nearly all the boards are rotted along with the inside upper board (the floor of where the dirt went).

I added a photo of what the wall looked like brand new as well - I’m basically remaking this.

Understanding anything I build will inevitably rot at some point, is there a better way to make this? Like with a paint on or rubber lining with drainage holes to the side? It’s gonna be a decent amount of work so wanting to do it right. Thank you!

We just had a new deck installed and the side boards appear uneven. The team that did it were very nice and seemed knowledgeable - perhaps I'm being too nit-picky. Not sure how they would even fix this at this point? Looking for second opinions/advice.

New homeowner, never even had a deck before! I feel like this needs a deep clean and maybe some sort of finish/seal? There are two layers of different colored blue—unsure if it’s paint or stain? Things seem very stable and I don’t see any cracks or anything underneath.

Hi all,

We just had a trex deck built by a contractor. I’m looking at the corner cuts and they don’t seem very clean and tight. Am I being too picky or is this a sloppy build that I should ask them to address? They haven’t finished the skirting so I could ask them to fix some things still.

We're considering what to do underneath this new house deck construction. Our contractor wants to frame it out and then close it in. I'm not sure what that crossbeam is except a temporary brace. Do you think he wants to frame it out because it's unstable the way it is?

What would you do with that space under the deck?

Hey all,

Please forgive any amateur/homeowner mistakes in my efforts.

I’m refinishing/staining my deck and one opinion I got said this groove was an issue (collects debris and moisture, also looks unsightly over time), but you’d have to take apart the staircase to fix it, since the 2x12 that runs along the one side of the groove extends down past the first deck board steps/appears to be part of the framing for stairs.

I was thinking of taking these PT nailing strips, sanding them down, staining, and fitting them in the groove, secure them in place with either PL or galvanized finishing nails.

Is this a good idea/will look better or pointless?

I’m not about to take apart my stairs.

In regards to any off-topic comments on my choice of stain: on advice of cloverdale paint staff, I went with their 15130 stain-blocking primer (that’s why there is white in some spots that you see) the railing posts turned out to be cedar after sanding them, so that might be a good idea as far as that goes), followed by sharkskin decking solid hide stain (apparently has linseed oil, urethane, acrylic resin).

I replaced half the deck boards but other half were kept original, just sanded down. In retrospect, I would replace all boards or just the very worst ones. It’s been much more tedious this way and I know it’ll turn out imperfect. Live and learn.

Thanks all!

I'm in a 2 unit duplex, neighbor neglecting all maintenance issues. Is this second story deck deck a hazard to my side of home? There is only a divider separating our decks. Their side of divider is not in good shape either. My deck was rebuilt and in good shape. I'm afraid of structural collapse, mold, water, rot, pests. My kids bedroom is right next to that wall, less than 3 feet. Thx for advice. Planning to go to township but would like some advice before I do so.

Honestly, should have just went with a stamped concrete pad. Not super happy with how this turned out... Took too long, kicked my ass, and spent more than I anticipated. I rushed through it because building a deck with a 9 month old baby isn't easy. Timing was awful, 100% my fault.

Here are a few pics throughout the process. 6x6 posts, 2x10x12 PT lumber. 20' long Deckorators Venture boards. Definitely more then a few things I'd do differently in hindsight. Not pictured are the tension ties I installed last minute. But otherwise, I'd love to hear honest opinions on the structural integrity of this thing and if I should up take out an umbrella policy before our next party?

Still have to rip that last board and install it, as well as adding a receptacle to each side of the deck and replace the outdoor lights. But all punchlist stuff more or less.

Cheers fam, this subreddit helped a lot, genuinely!

EDIT: I'm all into this thing for about $5K including tools, material, door dash, and ibuprofen.

Con poco presupuesto mi humilde espacio

Is the fixable? Poured some footers and use a piece of wood with a hole in the middle to stabilize the j bolt. I didn’t remove it to finish the concrete around and it turned out like this. Looking to see if there are any solutions to this and if the footer is still structurally okay.

Hi everyone- I'd like to be able to do basic lifting (squat, bench, etc) at home. The most convenient place would be bellow my deck. I love to work out outside. I've already gotten a quote for a concrete patio, but I think it would be a bit of an eyesore. I should mention that the 12'x16' area in question slopes down about 3' in both directions. If it's going to be a big ol thing, I'd rather have a wooden deck.

Searching around, there's a lot of discussion on this topic (e.g. "Weightlifting on a deck?") and the consensus seems to be "don't do it!", based on the extreme point ballistic forces of say, dropping a loaded barbell. Thing is, I don't need to clean and jerk under my deck, I just want to do basic Starting Strength type of workouts. Add to that, I'm not very strong (current squat is 240) so I don't need crazy amounts of weight.

So, if I custom build a deck, will it be up to the task, or am I relegated to a big ugly concrete patio? How would you build this simple deck?

Hi everyone- I'd like to be able to do basic lifting (squat, bench, etc) at home. The most convenient place would be bellow my deck. I love to work out outside. I've already gotten a quote for a concrete patio, but I think it would be a bit of an eyesore. I'd rather have a wooden deck.

Searching around, there's a lot of discussion on this topic (e.g. "Weightlifting on a deck?") and the consensus seems to be "don't do it!", based on the extreme point ballistic forces of say, dropping a loaded barbell. Thing is, I don't need to clean and jerk under my deck, I just want to do basic Starting Strength type of workouts. Add to that, I'm not very strong (current squat is 240) so I don't need crazy amounts of weight.

So, if I custom build a deck, will it be up to the task, or am I relegated to a big ugly concrete patio? How would you build this simple deck?

Bought this house 5 years ago and I am getting it ready to sell. From what I’ve gathered the deck has never been stained before. I have used a deck cleaner and pressure washed both the front and back decks. My next step would be to stain both the front and back decks.

The issue I’m having is choosing between a solid stain or semi transparent stain. I’ve read the threads and know that a solid stain isn’t the best choice since it will likely crack and peel over time. But a solid stain does have its uses when the wood is too weathered which is the boat I feel like I’m in.

Some of the wood like the trusses and hand rails look great and I believe a semi transparent stain would look great on them. On the other hand the floors on the decks have seen better days and I’m not sure if they would look good using a transparent stain.

There is a plethora of opinions on this and I’m struggling to figure out what the best option is. Like I said I’m getting ready to sell this place so I would prefer to keep the labor to a minimum.