Deck repairs
Deck Repairs on Auckland's North Shore
If your deck has gone spongy in one corner, a board has given way, or the handrail moves when you lean on it, that is worth looking at now rather than next summer. Most of it is fixable, and it is usually less work than people expect.
The most useful thing we do on a repair job is tell you the truth. If a repair is the sensible option, we will say so. If the substructure has had its day and you would be spending good money on a deck that needs replacing in two years, we will say that too.
Rotten and damaged boards
Individual boards can be lifted and replaced, and on a timber deck new boards can be matched reasonably well — they will look newer for a season until they weather in. Where boards have gone soft it is worth checking what is under them, because rot in the boards often means water has been sitting on the joists too.
Loose boards and failed fixings
Nails work loose over the years, and older decks fixed with the wrong fixings near the coast can corrode from the inside. Re-fixing with the right stainless or coated screws, set below the surface, solves the movement and the snagged toes.
Worn and weathered surfaces
Grey, splintery boards are often structurally fine. A clean, sand and re-oil can bring a timber deck back a long way. That is the cheapest thing on this page and worth trying before anything more drastic.
Structural movement, joists and bearers
Bounce underfoot, a sloping section, or a deck pulling away from the house are structural signs, not cosmetic ones. Usually it comes back to a bearer that has rotted where it sits on a pile, a fixing that has let go, or ground movement under a pile. These get checked properly before anyone quotes a board replacement.
Stairs and balustrades
Stairs and handrails are the safety items, so they get dealt with first. Uneven risers, bouncy treads, rotten stringers and balustrades you would not want a child leaning on are all common on older decks and all fixable.
Ageing substructures and earlier workmanship
A fair amount of what we repair is not age — it is a deck that was built cheaply. Under-sized bearers, joists at the wrong spacing, untreated timber in the wrong place, no drainage gap between boards. We will show you what we find and explain what it means rather than just quoting a number.
Weather and moisture
Most deck failure on the Shore comes down to water that could not get away: boards laid too tight, a deck sitting hard against the cladding, planter boxes trapping soil against timber, or no fall away from the house. Fixing the cause is part of the repair, otherwise you are back in the same spot.
Repair or replace?
Rule of thumb: if the substructure is sound and the problem is on top, repair. If the framing and piles are going, and you are already paying to lift the boards, a replacement is usually better value and you get to fix the things that always annoyed you about the old deck.
Related projects
Common questions
- Can an existing deck be repaired?
- Usually. Boards, stairs, balustrades and individual bearers can all be replaced. The question is whether the substructure underneath is worth building on, which is what a site visit is for.
- How do I know if my deck needs replacing?
- Soft or bouncy areas, boards that give underfoot, a deck that has dropped or pulled away from the house, and rot where bearers meet piles all point towards replacement rather than a patch.
- Do you replace just a few boards?
- Yes, small repairs are fine. We will tell you if a patch is a false economy.
- Is a wobbly balustrade urgent?
- Treat it as urgent, particularly on an elevated deck or above stairs. It is normally a quick fix, and it is the kind of thing that only gets worse.
Deck not what it was?
Send us a photo or give us a call. We will take a look, tell you what we find and price the sensible option.