Rotten deck rebuilt — frame, boards and balustrade
The customer asked us to look at a first-floor deck and handrail. They hoped the main frame was still sound and that the job would be a rail and board refresh. Once we opened it up, it was clear the handrail was rotten — and so was the frame underneath.
Posts had split and hollowed out at the top. Rails were pulling away. Under the boards the old joists and outer frame had had their day. Leaving that in place and only swapping the decking would have been a short-term patch, not a safe balcony.
We took the structure back and rebuilt the frame in new 6×2, doubling up the outer frame for extra stiffness. Joists went in on hangers, fixed with twisted nails, and we ran deck tape on the joists before the boards went down so water is shed off the frame rather than sitting in it. New decking, a turned-spindle balustrade and post caps finished the job.
The deck is a proper outdoor room again — level boards, a rail you can trust, and the garden views still there. The point of the job was structural integrity first; the clean finish comes with that.
Work included
- Inspect the existing deck and handrail
- Strip out rotten posts, rails and frame
- New 6×2 frame, outer frame doubled
- Joist hangers and twisted nails
- Deck tape on the joists
- New decking boards
- New balustrade and post caps
