Decking boards starting to rot after 6yrs

T

tosullivan

Registered User
Messages
1,747
Not sure if this is the correct forum for this, so mods please move to appropriate if necessary.

I got a deck put down by a local company 6ys ago and noticed today when I went to stain it that a good few of the boards are on an advanced state of rot when I started poking at them. I felt a lot of give in a few boards and they started to bounce at the edge so when I picked at the wood, it crumbled away in my hands.

Its only at this side that its happened. Now we religously, annually clean down the deck and stain it, so we have kept it well, so needless to say I was shocked to see this.

At the time we were getting it, we decided to go with the smooth deck boards rather than the grooved/ridged ones as we thought they looked better and would not keep dirt in them as easy. We probably paid a bit extra for this aswell, but now it looks like the wood is not as weatherproof as we expected.

I can't see any other scenario than just having to replace the damaged boards, but do you think I have any chance for the installer in coming back and giving me a good explanation as to why this happened?

[broken link removed]

[broken link removed]

[broken link removed]

[broken link removed]
 
what warranty were you given by the supplier/installer.

the boards look bad, from the pics it seems that you have a raised bed behind these boards...if this is correct, i'm not surprised, a deck is supposed to be raised off the ground...
 
Those boards look like they are plain softwood timber, they do not look to be pressure treated (greeny hue off the wood), if they aren't pressure treated then 6 years is all you'd expect to get out of them, staining them or not :(
 
johnnyg said:
what warranty were you given by the supplier/installer.

the boards look bad, from the pics it seems that you have a raised bed behind these boards...if this is correct, i'm not surprised, a deck is supposed to be raised off the ground...
Click to expand...
the deck stops about 10" from the fence and then behind that I have filled in the gap with soil and planted a few shrubs...

as Havealaugh says, the boards don't look pressure treated if he says they should have a green color to them....
 
johnnyg said:
what warranty were you given by the supplier/installer.

the boards look bad, from the pics it seems that you have a raised bed behind these boards...if this is correct, i'm not surprised, a deck is supposed to be raised off the ground...
Click to expand...
the deck is sitting on a subframe about 8-10" off the ground on concrete
 
This timber look's like softwood from the pic's, at the time of installation were you aware of the the quality of timber that was being used, i.e. softwood or hardwood Of which would have a lot longer life span.
 
tosullivan

You could try fill and sand down the parts of the deck to try stop the rot, and use a wood preserving stain. It looks like paint you have on it ??? rather than a wood preserving stain, or is it that fence life ?
 
definately a non treated white deal here I would say, any idea what they installer claimed the boards to be?
You need to get rid of these boards lad and also check the subframe.
 
this is the company I used
[broken link removed]

They claim all their wood is pressure treated

I have used Cuprinol Decking Stain on it right now but it goes on more like a paint. I think my plan is to remove the raised bed. Take away the upright board and sort out all the board ends with rot on them.

I think next is to strip the stain and build a seat the length of the deck where the flower bed is to cover up the rotten wood ends.

Any suggestions for treating the board ends, what product?
 
Don't suppose you retained the original quote and/or invoice, either one should specify timbers. I would agree with other posters, boards do not appear to be a Pressure Treated board, but given the degradation of the timber it is very difficult to determine from the photos. One thing is certain, you need to take immedaite action you remove damaged boards and protect remaining boards from similar damage.

You should contact the installer as the website suggests life spans up to 40 years - which is for the birds!
Decking is not great in Ireland and this is clear proof why.

Sorry for your problems, I think they are only begining.
 
I have used Cuprinol Decking Stain on it right now but it goes on more like a paint
Click to expand...

I would have used a stain that actually soaks into the timber hence protecting it, the likes of a wood stain that you'd use indoors but I'm sure there are wood preservers for outdoors that do the same thing i.e. soak into the wood.

Any suggestions for treating the board ends, what product?
Click to expand...

I heard of a product called endcoat before, tried to search for it on web and locally but could not find it, I heard about it on the glendeck website -

Use an endcoat preservative. Brush a wood preservative such as Osmose ENDCOAT" on all saw cuts and into drill holes during construction of your deck. Also recommended for areas where moisture can collect.


http://www.gbt.ie/BuildADeck.html

Judging by the pics the problem is not huge - at the moment.

Good luck !
 
Sorry tosullivan to elaborate on one of my points re the stain, you could use a varnish and dilute it with white spirits as a base stain (can't help you with what parts to what !).

I would contact the supplier and fitter and ask for someone to call to see it and get their opinion. It does not look like pressure treated timber and I've recently completed a deck 40' x 20' so have a small bit of knowledge !
 
I was talking to my wife earlier about it and she said there is a picture somewhere of the deck when it went in first and she remembers distinctly that it had a green hue off it....

must try and dig it out
 
Please post that photo of the original timber when first installed, if you can locate it. The decking does not look like treated timber to me; I have CCA treated decking in my own garden (installed around 5-6 years ago) and even with minimal aftercare the timbers are sound and could not be confused with untreated softwood.
 
Havealaugh said:
I would have used a stain that actually soaks into the timber hence protecting it, the likes of a wood stain that you'd use indoors but I'm sure there are wood preservers for outdoors that do the same thing i.e. soak into the wood.



I heard of a product called endcoat before, tried to search for it on web and locally but could not find it, I heard about it on the glendeck website -

Use an endcoat preservative. Brush a wood preservative such as Osmose ENDCOAT" on all saw cuts and into drill holes during construction of your deck. Also recommended for areas where moisture can collect.


http://www.gbt.ie/BuildADeck.html

Judging by the pics the problem is not huge - at the moment.

Good luck !
Click to expand...

You're having a laugh right?
 
Just trying to help the OP that's all, if you can contribute to the post feel free ;)
 
Carpenter said:
Please post that photo of the original timber when first installed, if you can locate it. The decking does not look like treated timber to me; I have CCA treated decking in my own garden (installed around 5-6 years ago) and even with minimal aftercare the timbers are sound and could not be confused with untreated softwood.
Click to expand...
now that I see it again after all these years, it doesn't look too green to me. I do remember the knots having a green discolouration to them though.
[broken link removed]

I'm actually thinking about putting down the ribbed boards. I can get my hands on them very cheap and was thinking of just screwing them down on top of the existing boards. Does anyone think this would cause any problems?
It would just save me a lot of bother trying to lift the existing ones as they are nailed in
 
I think next is to strip the stain and build a seat the length of the deck where the flower bed is to cover up the rotten wood ends.
Click to expand...
Is your flower bed in direct contact with your deck at the moment? - Maybe this is where the damp is getting in and rotting your deck.
Is this the only place that is rotting? - near the flower bed?
 
You are only compounding the problem by covering rotting timberwork with good material, but you probably know this anyway. Best solution is to remove all the poor quality material of the deck, no doubt the supporting joists as well. If the previous installer gave you this quality on full view, who knows whats hidden beneath.

sabre
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top