Making the deck safe, solid, and affordable
The tenants at this rental property had a grill fire that spread to the deck railing. Several railing sections were badly damaged, some deck boards were burned, and parts of the existing structure were already showing signs of age and rot.
The owner wanted the deck repaired properly, but he also wanted to keep the cost under control and avoid filing an insurance claim if possible.
What we found
The fire damage was concentrated around the railing and nearby deck boards, but the existing railing design created another problem: the original spindles were a style that would have been difficult and expensive to match.
Rather than spend extra time and money trying to duplicate the old railing exactly, we chose a simpler repair approach.
We removed the damaged railing sections and replaced them with a new railing using straight spindles. We also replaced the burned deck boards with pressure-treated lumber.
During the work, we found that some of the existing posts had become soft and were beginning to rot. Those posts were replaced with new treated posts rather than trying to reuse wood that was no longer sound.
Keeping the repair practical
The goal on this project was not to make the deck look brand new. It was to make it safe, solid, and serviceable without spending money where it wasn’t necessary.
Using standard treated lumber and a simpler railing design kept the repair cost down while still replacing the parts that were damaged or deteriorated.
The new wood doesn’t perfectly match the older deck today, but that was expected. When the house is next painted, the owner plans to paint the entire deck at the same time so the old and new materials blend together.
The result
The damaged railing, boards, and deteriorated posts were replaced, the deck was made solid again, and the owner avoided the expense of replacing more of the structure than necessary.
For an older rental property, that was the right objective: fix the damage, replace what is no longer sound, and keep the repair practical.