What Caused This Wood Deck Failure?

[bdhsfz6]

Another round of big storms last night. Water from the swale is causing me to fix a washout in the driveway for the 2nd time this week (and 2nd time ever).
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I am not going to complain because I would rather have this than the drought we've had the last couple of years.

Sometimes, repairing damage like that once or twice a year is cheaper, and less work that trying to find a permanent fix.

 

[EddieWalker]

On my place, when I get an area that starts to wash out over and over again, I mix some concrete and create a hard barrier to to stop the water from flowing there.

If it's really bad, I'll put in some bigger rock in the ditch that will not move when water is flowing.

The two issues with water is how hard the surface is, and how fast the water is moving. If you can slow down the water, the damage is significantly less.

 

[Runner]

Just finished fixing the drive again. This time was worse because the gravel was already loose from last time. Last time I just used a grass rake and shovel. This time got out the 2520 with bucket. Box blade would have been better, but too much trouble to get out for this small of project. Just raked the gravel out of the grass and back-dragged into position with the bucket, then smoothed out and blended with rake.

I have seen people do the concrete trick around here and seems to work well. Hoping things will settle down and not need anything drastic. For the last 18 years, all we've ever had across those areas is just a gentle flow and not enough to move the gravel.

Apparently the culvert must have been backed up again because there was another batch of debris in the front yard. This is a 36" culvert that is taking water from about 4 blocks of public street, plus what water comes out of our yard.

It kind of galls me that I have to pay the City a "stormwater tax" on my water bill for every square inch of hard surface on my property, then take all their stormwater through my front yard every time it rains....

 

[pmsmechanic]

It kind of galls me that I have to pay the City a "stormwater tax" on my water bill for every square inch of hard surface on my property, then take all their stormwater through my front yard every time it rains....

I'd be tempted to send them an invoice.

 

[ultrarunner]

Just finished fixing the drive again. This time was worse because the gravel was already loose from last time. Last time I just used a grass rake and shovel. This time got out the 2520 with bucket. Box blade would have been better, but too much trouble to get out for this small of project. Just raked the gravel out of the grass and back-dragged into position with the bucket, then smoothed out and blended with rake.

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I have seen people do the concrete trick around here and seems to work well. Hoping things will settle down and not need anything drastic. For the last 18 years, all we've ever had across those areas is just a gentle flow and not enough to move the gravel.

Apparently the culvert must have been backed up again because there was another batch of debris in the front yard. This is a 36" culvert that is taking water from about 4 blocks of public street, plus what water comes out of our yard.

It kind of galls me that I have to pay the City a "stormwater tax" on my water bill for every square inch of hard surface on my property, then take all their stormwater through my front yard every time it rains....

I'm in California and required to pay city storm water tax yet street gutters from over 100 homes daylight on my property and it's 100% on me to mitigate.

Correction... about 29 years ago the city gave me a rake and a raincoat to deal with debris backups.

 

[Runner]

I'm in California and required to pay city storm water tax yet street gutters from over 100 homes daylight on my property and it's 100% on me to mitigate.

Correction... about 29 years ago the city gave me a rake and a raincoat to deal with debris backups.

Wow!

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm in California and required to pay city storm water tax ...

When did this start? I left in 2002 and I don't remember a Storm Water tax. How much is it?

 

[Runner]

When did this start? I left in 2002 and I don't remember a Storm Water tax. How much is it?

Mine is $3.61/month.

 

[spitter]

So much for California dreaming.

 

[Runner]

Started on the "new" stair/landing yesterday.

 

[EddieWalker]

Are these stairs meant to be there for the long term, or are they just something quick to get by until you build what you want permanently?

 

[Runner]

Are these stairs meant to be there for the long term, or are they just something quick to get by until you build what you want permanently?

Welllllllll, the stairs were salvaged from the old deck and still in fairly decent shape and the other lumber is a mis-mash of "new old stock" treated lumber from the woodshed, salvaged wood from the old deck and some new (4x4 posts and maybe the 2x6 top rail if I can't find enough treated stuff laying around to do the job...).

So, I guess the answer is, it will last as long as it will last. This will be a little experiment to see how much more use I can get out of the pieces that aren't quite rotten yet.

This thing is so simple and easy to build that I'm not going to worry about how long it lasts. If I have to rip it out and rebuild it in a couple of years, I won't feel bad because I can do it in a day and I won't cost much.

Maybe the real answer is that I'm not 100% sure exactly what I want there, but I think this is it. We will use this for awhile and see if it works. Again, if it turns out to not be what I want permanently, I'm not out anything except an afternoon's work building it.

Honestly, after what I just went through with that deck, I'm not taking any of this too seriously at this point.....

 

[EddieWalker]

That makes sense. Are you going to add any metal brackets to hold it together and support your joists on the posts? Screws and nails will hold it in place for awhile, but they are not strong enough for long term.

 

[Runner]

That makes sense. Are you going to add any metal brackets to hold it together and support your joists on the posts? Screws and nails will hold it in place for awhile, but they are not strong enough for long term.

I thought about it. I salvaged a bunch of the brackets off the deck to re-use, but not sure if this thing will last long enough to be worth the effort.
I might just put one in each corner of the landing to stiffen it up a little...

Just for fun, I treated the tops of everything with some of that Woodlife Copper Coat by Rustoleum (made for treating cut-ends of treated wood etc.). Not sure if it will help, but might make the stuff last a little longer. Boy, does it stink..... I can smell it while sitting on the front porch...

 

[ponytug]

I thought about it. I salvaged a bunch of the brackets off the deck to re-use, but not sure if this thing will last long enough to be worth the effort.
I might just put one in each corner of the landing to stiffen it up a little...

Just for fun, I treated the tops of everything with some of that Woodlife Copper Coat by Rustoleum (made for treating cut-ends of treated wood etc.). Not sure if it will help, but might make the stuff last a little longer. Boy, does it stink..... I can smell it while sitting on the front porch...

I like the "try it and see attitude" toward what you want for stairs. I think that's very sensible.

Plates will help a lot by keeping the wood from flexing and wallowing out the fastener holes and rotting.

The copper naphthenate stinks, but it really helps cut down rot. In a year or two, I would recoat with a wood sealer.

All the best,

Peter

 

[2manyrocks]

Depending on the dimensions of the stones you have on your property, it might be possible to make a landing/stairs with some of them instead of using wood?

If you have some more of those cut stones laying around unused on your property, it might be able to incorporate them into your design for other purposes.

 

[Runner]

Depending on the dimensions of the stones you have on your property, it might be possible to make a landing/stairs with some of them instead of using wood?

If you have some more of those cut stones laying around unused on your property, it might be able to incorporate them into your design for other purposes.

Honestly, I'm not crazy about using stone for walking surfaces. It looks good, but they are uneven and hard to clean snow off of in winter. The rock walkway was installed by a previous owner. If it were my choice, I'd rather have concrete.

However, I am a big fan of using them for landscaping and will for sure be doing more of that. I am seriously considering making a fire ring out of some of the large stones.

I am currently trying to figure out how to handle a big (like 10" or so) step down from the patio to the stone walkway. I don't want to use another stone for the reasons mentioned earlier. What I want to do is pour a concrete step on top of the stones that are sitting there now, but not sure if this will work, i.e., frost heave, etc.

I am thinking about just forming up about a 12" deep step there, about 6" rise and maybe 3 feet wide right on top of the two stones adjoining the patio. The stones don't seem to have moved any in the 18 years we've been here, so I'm thinking that it would be OK as long as I put a bond breaker between the step and the patio...

 

[Runner]

One good thing about building with used deck lumber, it's pre-stained. Got the floor of the landing installed yesterday.

 

[Runner]

New stair finished.

Hopefully, this will last a while. Stair will probably need to be replaced first, but that should be fairly easy - just six screws to remove the old one as a unit, build new unit in shop and six screws to replace.....

 

[NoTrespassing]

Hi,
This is about a wood deck in our new home. Moved here last year and the deck was in a very poor condition after the winter, it got ignored by us over the winter amid the chaos of moving, but quite sure that previous owners also had not been looking after it very well. Its like 4-5 years old, so there was not much/any damage, it was just coated with dirt and slippery with algae/mildew in lots of places.

A month back I cleaned thoroughly and oiled and it looks much improved, no more slippery and I could see the wood. It has been re-oiled. But I have noticed that water pools in the middle on many of the boards. May be it was not installed correctly or it has bowed in the middle following the contour of the garden? In summers pooled water dries quite fast but in winter its there for a long time.

Can I drill few holes, 1-2 in each groove where water collects? I will treat the hole with the decking oil I used on the surface, can do 4-5 coats. Think that should prevent the rot to start from the holes. But I am concerned that it might affect the strength of the board? Attaching a picture of the problem.

If it was mine, I would remove the boards and flip them over where possible. Otherwise I would replace the ones that are cupped badly.

If the cupping isn't too bad you might try sanding if the fasteners are well sunk and then restain.

Just my unprofessional opinion.