From About This Project
The average deck has a life span roughly equal to that of your refrigerator. But unlike your fridge, which dies a sudden death, a deck dies slowly—stairs start bouncing, rails begin to wobble, deck boards twist and bow, and you begin to notice an overall shakiness. If your deck shows signs of rot and deterioration, it needs replacement. But if the wood and support footings are in good shape, there are steps you can take to solidify your deck and prolong its life.
Tips and Advice
A Trio of Deck Enemies
Decks are the most vulnerable parts of our homes. They lie flat and unprotected. They’re constantly exposed to rain, snow, wind, heat and other elements. We walk all over ’em. The wobbles, sways and bounces that result can mostly be traced to three inevitable forces:
Wood shrinks and expands. Wood expands when it gets wet and shrinks when it dries. As wood moves, a number of things happen, and if your deck was built from treated wood with a high moisture content, they can happen in a rapid and dramatic fashion. Joists can shrink and pull away from rim joists (see No. 5) or no longer seat snugly in joist hangers. They can twist and wind out of their vertical position, weakening them. And the dozens of oncesquare, tight-fitting joints (which add rigidity to the deck) become loose and wiggly.
Wood becomes more elastic. Joists, beams and stair stringers—even when initially installed in their strongest position, with the bow or crown up—eventually lose their stiffness and become more elastic and more “bouncy.”
Fasteners loosen. When wood fibers shrink, nails and screws that were once tightly wedged lose their grip. When this happens, deck boards, railings and handrails loosen. These three pages show six simple steps you can take to help counteract these forces.
