deck rotting issues

[boggen]

the deck at my moms house, has a maple tree directly above it in a corner. and it drops everything directly on the corner of the deck. and more so stuff gets caught in the space between the deck boards.

she normally power washes it atleast once a year. to keep everything at bay and keep it looking good.

but this grove, just collects water and crud, and no real way for air to get in and dry anything out. the result is the ends of the boards are starting to rot out.

any suggestions of what to do?

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rest of deck lumber is in descent shape. in a couple more years maybe longer, it will need to be replaced, but before that.....

i thought about tacking on a couple more 2x4's to existing 2x4. and take circular saw and cut the rotten ends off, and then place another 1x6 ripped to width and place down in.

not really liking idea, i have some sheet metal from dealing with new furnace. i could also toss down. but there would be no air flow, and most likely cause deck to rot out even faster. and end up being slippery. (deck extends out over a walk out basement) so if you fall off, you fall 8 plus feet onto concrete and or 1 foot size rocks.

 

[coobie]

Replace the board and trim the tree back so the deck can get more sun.

 

[oosik]

Trim the tree back. Replace the deck boards and make the space between the boards wider - suggest 2X. This will improve air flow and make it easier to keep the "crud" cleaned up.

 

[boggen]

she is on a shared lake, she likes her privacy, tree = privacy. i trimmed some branches for her, but anymore trimming and it would be the death of me.

 

[rekees4300]

in a couple more years maybe longer, it will need to be replaced

Consider replacing using Trex instead of wood. More expensive but it wont rot.

Composite Decking | Composite Deck Materials | Trex

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Consider replacing using Trex instead of wood. More expensive but it wont rot.

Composite Decking | Composite Deck Materials | Trex

Yeah, I rebuilt my rear deck 12 years ago with composite decking over treated framing. It is still in great shape. All I do is pressure wash it once a year.

 

[bcp]

Cut off the rotten ends, do a little framing underneath the end, then add a couple of new boards.

Bruce

 

[dickfoster]

the deck at my moms house, has a maple tree directly above it in a corner. and it drops everything directly on the corner of the deck. and more so stuff gets caught in the space between the deck boards.

she normally power washes it atleast once a year. to keep everything at bay and keep it looking good.

but this grove, just collects water and crud, and no real way for air to get in and dry anything out. the result is the ends of the boards are starting to rot out.

any suggestions of what to do?

========
rest of deck lumber is in descent shape. in a couple more years maybe longer, it will need to be replaced, but before that.....

i thought about tacking on a couple more 2x4's to existing 2x4. and take circular saw and cut the rotten ends off, and then place another 1x6 ripped to width and place down in.

not really liking idea, i have some sheet metal from dealing with new furnace. i could also toss down. but there would be no air flow, and most likely cause deck to rot out even faster. and end up being slippery. (deck extends out over a walk out basement) so if you fall off, you fall 8 plus feet onto concrete and or 1 foot size rocks.

Yeah my suggestion is to do away with the wood and put in a concrete deck with a steel pan deck and fix it forever. Concrete won't rot, won't burn and the bugs can't eat it.
In lieu of that when I built my decks at the last house, I coated the top of the joists with tar and plastic. Roofing tar will just about jump out of the can and get all over so wear old clothes for the job. First paint the joints with water seal, then paint the tops with roofing tar, then apply strips of plastic that you can hold in place with staples, then deck it.

That way there is no way for the moisture and water to get to the wood joists with is usually what goes. I guess you could use plastic decking but I hate the looks of that stuff so I re stained the natural wood decking (redwood on one deck mahogany on the other) every couple of years with transparent oil stain from Superdeck. It goes on pretty quick. The tar will also seal around any screws that hold the decking down so that also helps preserve the joists.

 

[boggen]

Cut off the rotten ends, do a little framing underneath the end, then add a couple of new boards.

View attachment 509834
Bruce

that looks better that what i originally thought of, thx!

Yeah my suggestion is to do away with the wood and put in a concrete deck with a steel pan deck and fix it forever. Concrete won't rot, won't burn and the bugs can't eat it.
In lieu of that when I built my decks at the last house, I coated the top of the joists with tar and plastic. Roofing tar will just about jump out of the can and get all over so wear old clothes for the job. First paint the joints with water seal, then paint the tops with roofing tar, then apply strips of plastic that you can hold in place with staples, then deck it.

That way there is no way for the moisture and water to get to the wood joists with is usually what goes. I guess you could use plastic decking but I hate the looks of that stuff so I re stained the natural wood decking (redwood on one deck mahogany on the other) every couple of years with transparent oil stain from Superdeck. It goes on pretty quick. The tar will also seal around any screws that hold the decking down so that also helps preserve the joists.

*rubs chin* i like the roofing tar, and i think i have some epdm pond liner or flat roof liner some place.

pass it on to my mom, see what she thinks. adding the above 2 things together.
might see if i can remove the old 2x4, and angle it some away from home to create a "gutter effect" with the liner. so there is a way for water to run out.

didn't really look much at it, real in depth. figured once i start cutting ends off, and getting into the boards more, i would go from there. am glad i asked about it!

 

[Clay45]

Toss out the wood. Change to concrete.